ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Canoeists (Access)

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what public funds are available to pay land and river owners to improve access for recreational canoeing; and if she will make a statement on the number of rivers to which canoeists have access.

Alun Michael: The lengths of water for canoeing on canals, rivers with public navigation rights and rivers with formal access agreement in England total over 5,000 km (34 per cent. of the major river and canal network). According to the feasibility study "Improving Access for Canoeing on Inland Waters: A Study of the Feasibility of Access Agreements", published in May 2004, there are no specific funds for land and river owners to improve access for recreational canoeing but the report highlights a number of potential sources of funding for access agreements.

Egg Stamping

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement about the Government's policy on the stamping of ungraded eggs (a) at the farm gate and (b) at local public markets.

Alun Michael: Under the Registration of Laying Flocks Order and the Egg Marketing Regulations, all producers must register in order to obtain an identifying code. Currently small producers with less than 350 birds are exempt from this requirement, provided that the eggs are ungraded and sold direct to the final consumer.
	However, because of enforcement difficulties in other member states, it was agreed in November 2003 that part of the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs be removed. From 1 July 2005 farmers selling eggs from their own farms at local public markets will no longer be exempt from the requirement to mark their eggs, irrespective of the number of laying hens kept. Some producers with fewer than 350 laying hens will therefore have to register for the first time, in order to obtain a distinguishing number. This measure had the support of the majority of other member states. Sales in farm shops and door to door do remain exempt.

Firearms Consultation Paper

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2004, to questions 179195, 179196 and 179197, on what date (a) she and (b) her officials had discussions with Home Office Ministers and officials about the firearms consultation paper; what representations she has received from the rural community on the implications of the Home Office firearms consultation paper; and by what mechanisms she has communicated these views to the Home Office.

Alun Michael: Defra will contribute to the process of consultation as it affects the Department's responsibilities. I have received representations from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), from a number of Labour MPs and we have seen a copy of the Countryside Alliance's initial statement. Recently I discussed the consultations with the Minister of State at the Home Office and this week I have a meeting with my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Caroline Flint) on 30 June as part of the on-going discussions between Departments on the issues in the consultation paper.

GM Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list GM products which may be imported into the UK; and in which countries each is grown prior to export.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 28 June 2004
	The crops in the following table were approved for placing on the market under Directive 90/220/EC (Directive 2001/18's predecessor). As far as we are aware the countries listed in the third column of the table have approval to cultivate these crops but we do not know for certain whether crops are grown there for export to the EU. This information has been taken from the AGBIOS database which can be accessed on their website at www.agbios.com/dbase.php.
	
		
			 Crop Event/line Countries which have approval to cultivate 
		
		
			 Tobacco C/F/93/08–02 EU 
			 Soya GTS40–3-2 Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, USA, Uruguay 
			 Chicory RM3–3, RM3–4, RM3–6 EU (seed breeding only), USA 
			 Maize Bt176 Argentina, Canada, EU, Japan, USA 
			 Oilseed rape MS1, RF1(1) Australia, Canada, Japan, USA 
			 Oilseed rape MS1, RF2(1) Australia, Canada, Japan, USA 
			 Carnation 4, 11, 15, 16 Australia, EU 
			 Oilseed rape Topaz (HCN92) Canada, Japan, USA 
			 Maize T25 Argentina, Canada, EU, Japan, USA 
			 Maize MON810 Argentina, Canada, EU, Japan, Philippines, South Africa, USA 
			 Maize Bt11 Argentina, Canada, Japan, USA 
			 Carnation 66 Australia and EU 
			 Carnation 959A, 988A, 1226A, 1351A, 1363A, 1400A EU 
		
	
	(1) Consent agreed at EU level but not issued by lead Competent Authority

GM Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of the GM crops with part C product approval contain antibiotic markers; and what those markers are.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 28 June 2004
	The table lists GM crops with part C marketing approval which contain antibiotic resistance markers.
	
		
			  GM crop  Consent number ARM gene 
		
		
			 MS1, RF1 Herbicide tolerant oilseed rape C/F/95/05/01/A C/UK/94/M1/1 nptII 
			 MS1, RF2 Herbicide tolerant oilseed rape C/F/95/05/01/B nptII 
			 Herbicide tolerant soya C/UK/94/M3/1 nptII 
			 Topaz 19/2 Herbicide tolerant oilseed rape C/UK/95/M5/1 nptII 
			 Herbicide tolerant chicory C/NL/94/25 nptII 
			 Bt-176  Herbicide tolerant and insect resistant maize C/F/94/11–03 bla

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aid Budget

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the UK's arrangements for payment of each element of the aid budget channelled through the European Union.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: UK contributions to the EC Budget are made in accordance with the Own Resources Decision, which sets out the rules for financing the Budget. These contributions are made to the Budget as a whole, including to the EC external aid programme, and not to specific programmes.
	The UK's contribution to the European Development Fund, which does not form part of the EC Budget, is paid directly from DFID accounts in three instalments. The overall level of contributions are based on Commission estimates of expenditure and agreed by Council Decision.

Departmental Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount paid by his Department to employment agencies for the supply of temporary staff was in financial year 2003–04.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: This information is not centrally available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

East Timor

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on poverty in East Timor; and what assistance the UK is providing.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: East Timor is one of the poorest countries in South East Asia, with most people surviving on less than 50 cents a day. Essential services are of poor quality, especially education and health, and access to them is limited. The Government has prepared a National Development Plan, which focuses upon poverty reduction, and the international community is contributing to the Plan's implementation. East Timor should be able to finance development programmes itself once significant revenues from Timor Gap oil and gas start to flow, probably around 2007–8. Until then it must rely heavily on external support.
	Since 1999 the UK have committed over £30 million to East Timor. Currently DFID is contributing £12 million (between 2002–5) to a World Bank managed fund for implementing their National Development Plan. A further £1.3 million is being provided over the same period, through OXFAM, to support community education. Britain has also contributed some 19 per cent. of European Commission development expenditure in East Timor. Between 1999 and 2002 (the last year for which figures are available) this is estimated to be approximately £14 million.

Haiti

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will undertake an in-depth review of the development needs of Haiti; and if he will open a bilateral programme in the country at the end of the current Assistance Plan.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: An urgent assessment of the development needs of Haiti has just been completed and produced an Interim Co-operation Framework. Following initial discussions with donors in Port-au-Prince, the Interim Government of Haiti will formally present this Framework at an International Donors' Conference in Washington DC on 19/20 July 2004. The UK will participate in the Conference with a view to ensuring that the assistance provided by the development community, including the International Financial Institutions, is targeted so as to respond effectively to the development needs of poor Haitians. In these circumstances DFID sees no value in carrying out a separate needs assessment.
	There is no current plan for DFID to open a bilateral programme in Haiti. We will, however, continue to provide significant amounts of indirect assistance through our financial contributions to the European Community (where we finance almost 13 per cent. of the European Development Fund), the World Bank and the Inter American Development Bank. We will also maintain our Small Grants Scheme and operate a number of central funds to which civil society organisations active in Haiti are eligible.

Resource Allocation

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether a performance indicator which compares the effectiveness with which the Department operates in different partner countries has been developed since the Strategic Review of Resource Allocation Priorities was published; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Comparative performance is assessed in a number of different ways: under the Public Service Agreement, we assess performance against agreed indicators across a range of focus countries. At the Divisional level there are also indicators for each country office in terms, for example, of progress they are making in improving joined-up working with other donors; and there are a range of corporate indicators, covering for example compliance with HR procedures and standards, financial procedures and good practice, which are monitored in a similar way across the organisation. These have not yet been brought together into one single balanced assessment of DFID's performance at country level. However we are now bringing together a wider range of performance indicators at a corporate level, and—in the light of experience with this system—will decide whether to apply these to cover Divisional, and, potentially, country levels within DFID.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether non-Sudanese trucks are being used for the distribution of humanitarian aid in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The International Committee of the Red Cross uses non-Sudanese trucks for their operations in Darfur. Other agencies are now looking to use non-Sudanese trucks. WFP is importing 25 non-Sudanese trucks, which are due to arrive in mid/late July.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent information he has received about the length of time taken to receive customs clearance for the distribution of humanitarian aid in Darfur.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Sudanese Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed at the high level Committee on 24 June that all items for Darfur would be cleared by Customs within seven days. On 27 June, the UN reported that some NGOs were facing continuing delays, particularly with regard to clearance of vehicles and radio and communications equipment. We are working with the Government of Sudan to ensure that customs clearance for humanitarian assistance is given as soon as possible and I spoke to the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs about this on 28 June. With the UN, we have urged the Government of Sudan to suspend all regulations regarding the movement of humanitarian goods and people in Darfur for a period of three months.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the World Food Programme about the extent of the use of the rail line to deliver supplies from Port Sudan.

Hilary Benn: The use of the rail line has been discussed by the UN at co-ordination meetings in Khartoum. WFP have recently recommenced using the rail line to deliver supplies, but there are problems. Delays result from the poor state of repair and lack of capacity of the rail track as well as inadequate security for the trucks at night. Supplies transported by this route are therefore only a small proportion of those required. We are working with WFP to help to ensure that food supplies reach as many people as possible.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what multi lateral aid is available to deal with the crisis in Sudan; and what strategy he is pursuing to try to persuade the international community to increase its aid commitments.

Hilary Benn: The UN tracks the resources that have been made available by the international community for the crisis in Sudan. Their report of 27 June 2004 stated that $319,889,014 (about £170 million) had been pledged by the international community for humanitarian assistance to Darfur and Chad. This includes all funds pledged for assistance through NGOs and the Red Cross as well as in response to the UN appeal. I will place a copy of the report in the Libraries of the House. The majority of the contributors are bilateral donors. The total Humanitarian Aid contribution from the UK in response to the humanitarian crisis has been £34.5 million and from the EC (including ECHO) is $56,259,990 (£30 million) since September 2003.
	The UN tables demonstrate that the UK has provided 19.4 per cent. of the total response to the crisis since September 2003. Over 66 per cent. of total funding has been provided by the US, UK and EC. The UK is also the largest donor in the non-food sector. I have been urging other donors to make significant contributions in response to the crisis in Sudan. I have written on a number of occasions to my colleagues in development ministries in the OECD and raised the issue of Darfur in discussions at the EU Development Ministers Informal on 1 June at the Tidewater meeting of donors on 22 June and with EU Commissioner Nielsen on 30 June. In addition, there are continuing discussions with other donors at official level in Khartoum and in donor capitals.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Sentencing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions the Law Officers have used the power to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal on the basis that it is unduly lenient.

Harriet Harman: The Law Officers used the power to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal in respect of a total of 149 defendants in 2001, 134 defendants in 2002 and 97 defendants in 2003. Figures in. respect of the total number of cases referred in the years 1989–2002 are set out in a table in my written answer, 24 March 2003, Official Report, column 23W.

Fraud

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Solicitor-General what recent representations she has received from small business organisations regarding the Government's initiatives to tackle fraudulent schemes targeting the small firms sector.

Harriet Harman: I have not received any representations regarding these initiatives.

Football Violence (Convictions)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Solicitor-General what contact representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service have had with their Portuguese counterparts for the purpose of ensuring the validity of convictions and sentences for football violence.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service routinely liaises with the appropriate officials in embassies abroad, including the Portuguese Embassy, through the Home Office Judicial Co-Operation Unit, whenever there is a need to have confirmation of an individual's conviction or sentence. This is done regardless of whether the conviction and/or sentence relates to football violence or any other criminal matter.

Investigation Legal Advisers

Mark Prisk: To ask the Solicitor-General how many investigation legal advisers there (a) were immediately prior to July 2003 and (b) have been since July 2003.

Harriet Harman: In July 2003 there were seven investigation legal advisers. At the time of transfer of the investigation legal advisers to HM Treasury there were still seven investigation legal advisers. At present although there are seven posts, only four are filled.

Investigation Legal Advisers

Mark Prisk: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans there are to transfer responsibility for investigation legal advisers to HM Treasury.

Harriet Harman: In an answer to a written question, 4 December 2003, Official Report (Lords), columns 32–33WA, the Attorney-General said that:
	"The Government also accepts the recommendation that investigation legal advisers should move to become the responsibility of HM Commissioners of Customs and Excise, on the basis that these advisers will not be involved in the prosecution process. This decision is subject to review after two years".
	The ILAs have been the responsibility of HM Commissioners to Customs and Excise since that date.

Investigation Legal Advisers

Mark Prisk: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans the Law Officers have to increase the number of investigation legal advisers.

Harriet Harman: I have no plans to increase the number of investigation legal advisers in Customs and Excise. They are not the responsibility of Customs and Excise Prosecution Office which the Law Officers superintend. Investigation legal advisers are a matter for the main Customs and Excise Department.

TRANSPORT

Irish-registered Vehicles

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions there were of drivers of Irish-registered vehicles that did not have current Irish road tax in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04.

David Jamieson: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency successfully prosecuted 264,764 cases in 2002–03, and 274,348 cases in 2003–04, for vehicle excise duty and vehicle registration offences in Great Britain. Separate statistics are not kept for foreign registered vehicles.

Civil Service Relocation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants and what percentage of the total Civil Service workforce in his Department will be relocated over the next five years (a) outside the M25, (b) to the West Midlands and (c) to Staffordshire.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on 22 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1292–3W.

Cycling

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the Departmental budget was allocated to cycling in each of the last 10 years.

Kim Howells: Many strands of my Department's funding, for example, that provided for road maintenance, will be of benefit to cyclists. It is therefore not possible to provide a meaningful assessment of the proportion of Departmental funding allocated to cycling.
	Nevertheless, there are conspicuous examples of funding which target cycling alone. Greatest among these is funding through the Local Transport Planning (LTP) process. Local authorities (outside of London) fund cycling capital schemes from the Integrated Transport (IT) Block grant made by my Department as part of the Local Transport Planning (LTP) process. Allocation of funds from the IT block is a matter for the individual local authority. The LTP regime has been in operation since 2001–02 and only since its inception has the Department collected returns specifically on local authority spend on capital schemes for cycling. The tables sets out spend or forecast spend, on cycling schemes derived from returns from local highway authorities (outside of London), as compared with total spend on schemes under the IT block and funds allocated by the Department under the IT block.
	
		LTP spend/forecast (2004–05 settlement figures) on cycling schemes -- £000
		
			  (2)2001–02 (3)2002–03 (4)2003–04 (4)2004–05 (4)2005–06 
		
		
			 Spend/forecast—cycle schemes 29,583 39,457 36,127 39,422 40,734 
			 Spend/forecast—IT block schemes 438,036 661,949 669,940 717,121 691,260 
			 Cycle spend as percentage of IT block 6.8 6.0 5.4 5.5 5.9 
		
	
	(2) Spend
	(3) Forecast Outturn Spend
	(4) Forecast
	
		Allocation
		
			  Allocation— IT block Cycle spend as percentage of IT block allocation 
		
		
			 2001–02 529,045 5.6 
			 2002–03 564,768 7.0 
			 2003–04 621,321 5.8 
			 2004–05 659,183 6.0 
		
	
	Since 2000, funding for cycling initiatives in London has been the responsibility of Transport for London which is funded through a block grant from my Department. Under the direction of the Mayor for London, TfL is free to allocate this grant in accordance with its priorities for transport in the capital. It spent £13.6 million on cycling measures in 2003–04.
	Additionally, the Department awarded direct funding of £2.18 million for local cycling projects through its Cycling Projects Fund in 2002–03, In 2003–04 it provided a further £2.2 million through the fund.
	Finally, in 2002–03 and 2003–04, the Department funded the English Regions Cycling Development Team to assess and improve local authority performance on cycling at a cost of £3.18 million including VAT.

DVLA

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how long it has taken on average for the DVLA to (a) update its register following notification of a change of address and (b) issue a new document following notification of change of address in the most recent period for which figures are available.

David Jamieson: For 2003–04 DVLA handled in excess of 13 million notifications of change affecting vehicle records and 3 million affecting driver records. DVLA issued 95 per cent. of new documents following a notification of change within 12 days for vehicle Registration Certificates. Actual performance attained in May 2004 for Registration Certificates was 96.29 per cent. DVLA aims to issue driving licences 15 working days following receipt at the Centre of an application complete in all respects. This may take longer if checks need to be made on health or personal details.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the travel costs incurred by (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) car, (b) train, (c) aeroplane and (d) helicopter, in each of the last 10 years.

Kim Howells: In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government has also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for earlier years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course.
	The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002 and gained an additional Minister in July 2003. The travel and subsistence costs incurred by (a) the Department including Ministers and (b) Ministers and their private office staff in each financial year are as follows:
	
		(£s)
		
			  
		
		
			 29 May 2002- 31 March 2003 (a) 1,606,589 (b) 83,518 
			 1 April 2003- 31 March 2004 (a) 1,919,678 (b) 121,567 
		
	
	Information concerning costs incurred by Ministers alone could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	My Hon. Friend the Minister of the Cabinet Office has asked Nick Matheson, Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency to write to the right hon. Member with details of the cost of Ministerial vehicles provided to this Department.
	Information about the mode of transport used by Ministers on departmental business is not held centrally. Ministers use a variety of public transport services when undertaking departmental business.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case.

Kim Howells: The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002.
	The Secretary of State has travelled by helicopter on three occasions: to inspect the route of the M6 toll road; to see the location of airports in the South East (when he was accompanied by Mr Tony McNulty); and during an exercise by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
	Mr David Jamieson has undertaken two journeys on departmental business using helicopters: to fly over the location of a possible airport in East Kent; and once during a visit to Slovenia.
	Details are not held on the length of these journeys.

MOT Test Pad Fee

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the reasons were for the increase in the MOT test pad fee;
	(2)  when the increase in MOT test pad fees became effective; and what the percentage increase of the fee was;
	(3)  how monies raised as a consequence of the increase to the MOT test pad fee will be used;
	(4)  what additional income has been raised as a result of the increase in MOT test pad fees.

David Jamieson: holding answer 28 June 2004
	Charges for pads of blank MOT certificates are reviewed each year along with the test fee. There will be no increase in the charge for 2004. The charge will be increased again probably in 2005 after the expected roll-out of MOT computerisation to provide VOSA with additional income to fund a full year's operation of the service.
	VOSA's income from sales of pads of MOT certificates covers its costs administering and controlling standards in the MOT testing scheme. Since 2000 the charge has also funded VOSA's costs managing the PFI contract with Siemens Business Services (SBS) to deliver MOT computerisation. The additional income raised as a result of the certificate charge increase of 25p per certificate in August 2003, was £3.99 million. Some income from charges will be used to smooth the transition to the full certificate charge increase that will be necessary to fund the MOT computerised service once all MOT garages are linked to the service from mid-2005.

Motor Insurance Contracts

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the location and number of all exits from motorways in England and Wales that are controlled (a) full and (b) part-time by traffic lights.

Kim Howells: holding answer 23 June 2004
	The Highways Agency has identified the following motorways in England that have one or more exit slip roads controlled by full time traffic signals:
	Ml at junctions 5, 10 to 15, 19, 21, 24 to 26, 28, 33, 34, 40 and 42
	M2 at junctions 3 and 5
	M3 at junctions 1, 3 to 6, 9 to 11 and 13
	M4 at junctions 3 to 8/9, 11 to 13, 15, 16, 18 and 19
	M5 at junctions 1 to 4, 6,16 to 19, 21, 25, 29 and 30
	M6 at junctions 5, 9, 10, 15,16, 19, 23, 24, 27 and 34
	M11 at junctions 7, 8 and 13
	Ml8 at junction 5
	M20 at junctions 4 and 10
	M23 at junctions 9 and 10
	M25 at junctions 1A to 3, 6, 8,10, 11,14, 17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 28 to 31
	M27 at junctions 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11
	M32 at junctions 1 and 2
	M40 at junctions 1, 4, 9 and 15
	M42 at junctions 1, 2, 4, 6 and 10
	M53 at junction 5
	M56 at junctions 4, 6, 11 and 12
	M57 at junction 6
	M58 at junction 1
	M60 at junctions 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 15, 18 to 24, 26 and 27
	M62 at junctions 6, 26, 28, 31 to 33
	M65 at junction 4
	M66 at junction 2
	M67 at junctions 1 and 3
	M602 at Albion Way and Regent Road and junction 2
	M606 at Staygate Interchange
	M621 at junctions 1, 3, 4 and 7
	A1(M) at junctions 4 and 8
	Al94(M) at White Mare Pool Interchange
	The Highways Agency has also identified the following motorways in England with one or more exit slip roads controlled by part time traffic signals:
	Ml at junction 31
	M2 at junction 4
	Ml 8 at junctions 1 and 3
	M55 at junction 1
	M60 at junction 17
	M62 at junction 20
	M621 at junction 2
	A1(M) at junctions 3, 6, 61, 62 and 63
	Approximately 80 km of motorways in England are owned and managed by local highway authorities; information about exit slip roads traffic signals on these roads is not readily available.
	The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for motorways in Wales.

Regional Assemblies

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings his Department has held with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister concerning the powers of elected regional assemblies.

Tony McNulty: The Department has held a number of meetings with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about the statutory provisions and other arrangements required to give effect to the transport powers of elected regional assemblies set out in the White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice".

Road Safety

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of road accidents in 2003 occurred (a) at road junctions, (b) on roads where lanes had been closed off, (c) on motorways, (d) on dual carriageways, (e) in areas subject to 30 mph speed limits, (f) in areas subject to 40 mph speed limits and (g) in areas subject to 70 mph speed limits.

Kim Howells: holding answer 29 June 2004
	60 per cent. of all injury road accidents in Great Britain in 2003 were at junctions; 4 per cent. were on motorways; 16 per cent. on dual carriageways which include motorways; 64 per cent. were on roads subject to 30 mph speed limits; 8 per cent. were on roads subject to 40 mph speed limits and 7 per cent. occurred on roads subject to 70 mph speed limits.
	We are unable to provide information about roads where lanes have been closed off and it is important to remember that the numbers quoted in the answer above are not mutually exclusive. For example motorways are counted both in the dual carriageway figure and the all roads subject to a 70 mph speed limit percentage, and dual carriageways would also cover roads subject to a 40 mph speed limit.

Ryde Tunnel

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to retain the flexibility of Ryde Tunnel to take standard railway gauge and light railway tramcar stock.

Tony McNulty: There are no plans to change the dimensions of the tunnel at Ryde in any way.

Vehicle Operator Services Agency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the costs of the Vehicle Operator Services Agency's IT provision was at the end of the previous contract with EDS as a percentage of turnover; and what the projected costs of IT provision at the end of the current contract with Atos Origin are.

David Jamieson: The final year of the EDS contract was 2002. During this calendar year the Vehicle Inspectorate's turnover was £100.1 million. Payments to EDS amounted to £5.8 million, which is 5.8 per cent. of turnover.
	The contract with Atos Origin will run until 31 December 2011. The projected turnover for the calendar year 2011 for the Vehicle Inspectorate part of VOSA is £144.3 million, and the contracted IT services provision costs is £6.7 million, 4.6 per cent. of turnover.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on provision of non-vocational adult education.

Ivan Lewis: The Government is committed to continuing a wide range of opportunities in non-vocational adult education including literacy and numeracy and opportunities for those returning to learning who want a first step on the learning ladder.
	In addition, to safeguard learning for personal fulfilment the Government has agreed with the LSC a budget of £207 million in 2004–05 for adult education secured through Local Education Authorities, an increase of 43 per cent. compared with funding in 2000–01 of £145 million.

School Funding

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the financial provision for schools in 2004–05.

David Miliband: The school funding settlement for 2004–05 is designed to promote stability and certainty for schools in their financial planning and management. It includes a guaranteed increase in funding of at least 4 per cent. per pupil for every school (where pupil numbers are static), additional resource at LEA level, and a package of transitional support to help schools in the greatest difficulties balance their budgets by 2006–07.

Protocol System

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the Protocol system.

Alan Johnson: The new Protocol system has been developed in partnership with the Student Loans Company to process all applications for higher education student finance. Following successful piloting in 2003–04, the system is being used by all Local Education Authorities to process 2004–05 applications. Progress is being closely monitored.

School Bullying

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his policy on bullying in schools.

Ivan Lewis: We have published a guidance pack "Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence" and an anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying with detailed advice on combating bullying. In November 2003 I launched an Anti-bullying Charter for Action for schools, which thousands of schools have signed. The Charter includes guidance on effective practice to help schools enhance their anti-bullying work.
	The Government's "make a difference" Anti-Bullying campaign has put this issue at the centre of our focus on improving behaviour and attendance in all our schools.

Playing for Success

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Playing for Success programme.

Stephen Twigg: Playing for Success is going from strength to strength. 103 clubs have signed up from a wide range of sports, with 83 centres now open. We expect to reach our target of 100 centres open by 2006, a year early. Four successive evaluation studies, undertaken by the National Foundation for Educational Research, found significant improvements in literacy, numeracy, ICT skills and motivation to learn among pupils attending centres.

Reading Attainment

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on reading attainment in primary schools.

Stephen Twigg: The National Literacy Strategy has transformed the teaching of reading in our primary schools. In 2003, 81 per cent. of 11-year-olds achieved the expected standard for their age compared to 67 per cent. in 1997. The report last year from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study found that England's 10-year-olds achieved the third highest standards of reading of all the participating countries.

Children's Diets

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had with organisations representing school governors on improving children's diets.

Stephen Twigg: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with organisations representing school governors on improving children's diets. However, the Food Standards Agency is working closely with the National Governors' Council to encourage school governors' promotion of food and nutrition issues within their schools.
	In addition, we are currently working across government on a Healthy Living Action Plan. It will bring together all the elements that contribute to a whole school approach to food and nutrition: the curriculum; food/meals available; pupil views; the role of heads, governors and other staff; and partnership working.

Infant Class Sizes

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average infant class size was in the (a) Jarrow constituency and (b) north-east in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: A table giving the requested class size information for all parliamentary constituencies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Class size information for the north-east region is shown in the following table.
	
		Maintained primary schools: Average infant class size(5)—position in January each year 1997 to 2004 (provisional)—Jarrow parliamentary constituency and north-east region
		
			  Average size of Key Stage 1 classes 
			  Parliamentary constituency North-east region 
		
		
			 1997 25.8 26.7 
			 1998 26.7 26.9 
			 1999 25.0 25.8 
			 2000 24.5 25.0 
			 2001 23.6 24.4 
			 2002 24.3 24.4 
			 2003 24.9 24.6 
			 2004(6) 24.9 24.6 
		
	
	(5) Classes taught by one teacher
	(6) Provisional
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

Mathematics Teaching

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to help improve the teaching of mathematics following the publication of the Adrian Smith Report.

Charles Clarke: I set out the government's initial response to Professor Adrian Smith's report in a written ministerial statement on 28 June.
	In that statement, I announced measures to:
	Recruit and retain more highly skilled Maths teachers;
	Set up a National Centre of Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics;
	Develop local school networks with access to mathematics expertise;
	Develop strong links across all sectors and strengthen National Strategies at Key Stage 2 and 3.
	These proposals will provide an effective answer to the challenges ahead and represent a fair balance between the needs of mathematics as a subject, what is reasonable in the context of other subjects and what is affordable.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will list the travel costs incurred (a) by his Department and its predecessors and (b) by each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case.

Stephen Twigg: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These reports include information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course. In respect of domestic travel, the information requested is not held centrally and to collect it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department does not collect information on journeys made by helicopter. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

PFI/PPP

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) book value of the stakeholding, (b) onward sale price and (c) arrangements for sharing any windfall gain from subsequent refinancing and arrangements are for each of the private finance initiative and public-private partnership schemes his Department has supported for (i) schools, (ii) universities and (iii) learning and skills councils where there has been an onward sale of the private sector stakeholding into secondary market.

David Miliband: As far as schools PFI projects are concerned the Department does not collect or collate such information as to do so would involve disproportionate cost. These matters are part of the commercial contractual arrangements between local authorities and private sector providers. The standard schools PFI contract provides for any re-financing gains subsequent to contract signature to be shared equally between the public and private sectors.
	Neither the Department nor its NDPBs have a direct interest in PFI projects in the HE or FE sector and therefore the information is not collected.

School Playing Fields

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking to retain school playing fields.

Stephen Twigg: Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was introduced on 1 October 1998 to stop the indiscriminate sale of school playing fields that occurred in the 1980s and early to mid 1990s. During this time there was widespread concern at the unrestricted sale of school playing fields. If a local authority wanted to sell a school playing field there was nothing to stop it and it could spend the proceeds as it wished. Local authorities and governing bodies of all maintained schools now need the Secretary of State's consent before they can dispose of a playing field or any part of a playing field. Applications to sell school playing fields are only approved where it is clear that they meet the needs of local schools and their communities and that any proceeds are used to improve school sports provision or education facilities.

Specialist Comprehensive Schools

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist comprehensive schools there are, broken down by type.

David Miliband: Of the 2,782 comprehensive schools in England, 1,724 (62 per cent.) are specialist, including newly designated schools which I announced earlier today and which will start operating in September. Of those 1,724, 278 are Arts Colleges, 135 are Business and Enterprise Colleges, 28 are Engineering Colleges, 15 are Humanities Colleges, 172 are Language Colleges, 129 are Maths and Computing Colleges, three are Music Colleges, 192 are Science Colleges, 252 are Sports Colleges, 486 are Technology Colleges, and 34 have a combined specialism.

TREASURY

Breast Cancer

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many men (a) have been diagnosed with and (b) have died from breast cancer in each of the last five years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Charles Hendry, dated 1 July 2004
	.
	The latest year for which figures on newly diagnosed cases are available is 2001. Figures on the number of deaths occurring in each year are available up to 2002. The numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer in men in England, for the five years 1997–2001 are given in the table below. Comparable numbers of deaths occurring in these years and in 2002 are also given in the table:
	
		Number of newly diagnosed cases of, and deaths from, breast cancer in men in England, 1997–2002
		
			  Newly diagnosed cases Deaths 
		
		
			 1997 230 65 
			 1998 265 73 
			 1999 272 64 
			 2000 206 66 
			 2001 245 78 
			 2002 n/a 78 
		
	
	Note:
	For newly diagnosed cases between 1997 and 2001 and deaths between 2001 and 2002, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C50. For deaths between 1997 and 2000, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 175.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.

Child Benefits (Wales)

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Wales are benefiting from (a) the child tax credit and (b) the child benefit.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest published estimates appear in (a) Child and Working Tax Credits. Quarterly Statistics. April 2004 and (b) Child Benefit. Quarterly Statistics. February 2004, respectively. These publications appear on the Inland Revenue website at: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/index.htm

Brain Tumours

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) children and (b) adults have been diagnosed as suffering from a brain tumour in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 29 June 2004
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Charles Hendry, dated 1 July 2004
	.
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2001. The number of newly diagnosed cases of brain cancer in England for children aged under 15 and adults aged 15 and over for each of the ten years 1992–2001 by Government Office Region are given in the attached table.
	
		Number of newly diagnosed cases of brain cancer in England, children aged under 15 and adults aged 15 and over,by Government Office Region, 1992–2001
		
			 Government Office Region 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 
		
		
			 Children (0–14)  
			 North East 16 10 11 13 13 
			 North West 27 41 31 33 33 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 30 30 22 30 20 
			 East Midlands 18 18 19 27 16 
			 West Midlands 35 23 23 25 24 
			 East of England 22 17 31 21 24 
			 London 23 29 30 26 35 
			 South East 41 37 44 36 29 
			 South West 19 24 22 24 22 
			 Adults (15+)  
			 North East 165 178 187 154 174 
			 North West 428 392 420 497 458 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 285 310 325 288 304 
			 East Midlands 272 273 280 277 305 
			 West Midlands 307 316 305 336 343 
			 East of England 335 311 297 342 343 
			 London 388 385 353 376 370 
			 South East 540 525 509 581 540 
			 South West 371 380 377 348 328 
		
	
	
		
			 Government Office Region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Children (0–14) 
			 North East 10 14 10 13 21 
			 North West 33 27 33 20 36 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 22 28 29 21 33 
			 East Midlands 23 27 20 25 21 
			 West Midlands 21 24 15 19 27 
			 East of England 21 15 28 18 25 
			 London 31 34 36 28 43 
			 South East 39 44 42 43 32 
			 South West 23 25 31 26 18 
			   
			 Adults (15+)  
			 North East 165 204 175 197 187 
			 North West 447 464 447 474 459 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 323 327 312 337 358 
			 East Midlands 299 290 299 318 273 
			 West Midlands 334 313 329 331 285 
			 East of England 397 369 353 392 361 
			 London 386 373 406 419 391 
			 South East 592 555 553 578 582 
			 South West 382 346 342 447 385 
		
	
	Note:
	For the years 1992 to 1994, International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision Code (ICD-9) code 191. For the years 1995 to 2001, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C71.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Heathrow Customs Office

Paul Beresford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reason was for the recent reduction in opening hours of the Heathrow Customs Office for passengers arriving to clear unaccompanied baggage.

John Healey: Customs and Excise have limited resources with which to achieve their objectives of protecting the revenue and providing a service to the travelling public. Pressure on the resources available to Heathrow has been exacerbated by commercial operators who, in an attempt to gain an advantage over their competitors, have used the free service provided by the Customs Import Entry office (CIE). This service was not designed or resourced to cope with this work.
	Customs and Excise took the decision that they could use the resources, formerly allocated to the CIE, in a more efficient and effective way by diverting them to areas of greater risk.

Heathrow Customs Office

Paul Beresford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration was given to the costs to Heathrow passengers needing to use cargo agents to clear unaccompanied baggage due to the reduction in opening hours of the Heathrow Customs Office; and when the decision was taken to reduce those opening hours.

John Healey: After consultation with trade associations (the airlines, agents and cargo shed operators) Customs and Excise concluded that it was not unreasonable for a passenger, who was unable to use the service provided by the Customs Import Entry office (CIE), to make a payment of £50 to £60 for the services of a commercial agent.
	The decision to implement the most recent reduction in opening hours of the CIE was taken in May 2004.

Military Equipment

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether military equipment sent from the United Kingdom to be used by British forces serving overseas is included in statistics relating to the value of British exports.

John Healey: Military equipment sent from the UK to be used by British forces serving overseas is not included in either the Overseas Trade Statistics or Annual Report of Strategic Export Controls publications that use HM Customs and Excise trade data.

Pension Liabilities

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of total public sector pension liabilities, broken down by major employers; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The value of the liabilities for each main, centrally administered scheme is contained in the report of the actuary as published in the schemes' Resource Accounts.

Pensions

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish in full the responses to the Treasury's December 2003 consultation paper on the taxation of pensions.

Ruth Kelly: The summary of responses to the consultation is on the Inland Revenue website, and the non-confidential responses have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Retirement Annuities (Tax Refunds)

Quentin Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many United Kingdom recipients of retirement annuities are eligible for refunds of any part of the basic rate tax deducted at source from such payments.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available.
	The Inland Revenue are setting up a joint working group, including representatives from both RAC providers and those who represent the pensioners interests such as the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, to carry out an assessment of the scale of the problem and to explore options for resolving this issue by April 2007. The group will also look at practical solutions in the short term to help those pensioners who may be suffering a cash flow disadvantage under the current system.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Rural Housing

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the projected demand for rural housing is in the East Riding of Yorkshire for the next 10 years; and how he intends to meet that demand.

Keith Hill: East Riding of Yorkshire Council has estimated the annual average rate for new housing provision over the next 10 years to be 1,050 dwellings per annum. More specific figures for rural areas are not available.
	The Regional Planning Body and the Regional Housing Board have agreed a joint methodology for estimating the scale and distribution of new housing to be used in the Regional Spatial Strategy (draft to be submitted to Government Office for Yorkshire and Humber in April 2005) and the revised Regional Housing Strategy to be submitted to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister for approval in May 2005. The Regional Spatial Strategy will include figures at local authority level, which authorities will then use in producing their Local Development Frameworks.The Regional Housing Board's investment strategy is already delivering the region's share of the Government's affordable rural housing target for 2004–05 and 2005–06. Investment in later years will be determined in future Spending Reviews.
	The Housing Corporation/Countryside Agency have commissioned a regional housing needs study with a view to developing a methodology to identify the wards with the largest affordability problems. The research findings are due to be finalised later this year and will be used to prioritise capital investment targeting across the region.

Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act

Paul Flynn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects a third commencement order to bring into force the various remaining leasehold provisions in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 to be made.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister anticipates making a commencement order in November 2004 for the remaining leasehold provisions in respect of England. The Welsh Assembly has devolved responsibility for secondary legislation in Wales. The hon. Member may wish to write to that office in respect of a commencement order for Wales.

Exploding Fuel Tanks

Martyn Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire service personnel were (a) injured and (b) fatally injured during the course of their duties as a result of exploding fuel tanks in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Raynsford: Information collected by the office of the Deputy Prime Minister on firefighter injuries in these circumstances is available from 1994, and is tabled as follows:
	
		Fire and rescue service personnel casualties (excluding precautionary checks) at fires where a fuel tank exploded. UK. 1994–2002
		
			  Casualties 
			  Fatal Non-fatal 
		
		
			 1994 0 75 
			 1995 0 80 
			 1996 0 51 
			 1997 0 41 
			 1998 0 40 
			 1999 0 30 
			 2000 0 35 
			 2001 0 30 
			 2002(7) 0 25 
		
	
	(7) Excluding any casualties that may have occurred during the period of industrial action in November 2002.
	Source:
	ODPM, FDR1 returns.

Fire Service (Radio Procurement)

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what conclusions relevant to the procurement of a digital radio system for the Fire Service he has drawn from the performance of the Airwave police radio network.

Nick Raynsford: The main requirements for a wide-area radio system for the Fire and Rescue Services were set out in an EU procurement notice in October 2002. Subsequently the Invitation to Submit Proposals issued 31 July 2003 set out the functional requirements for a national wide-area radio system that meets the operational needs of the Fire and Rescue Service in a changing environment. Companies were invited to put forward their own technical solutions to meet those requirements and the contract is still under negotiation.

Housing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list by local authority area (a) the amount of local authority social housing grant paid in the year 2002–03, (b) the amount of housing capital receipts for the year 2002–03 and (c) the amount of housing corporation grant for the period 2004–05.

Keith Hill: Social Housing Grant paid through Local Authorities in 2002–03; the amount of housing capital receipts for the year 2002–03; and the allocations of Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme for 2004–05 listed by local authority has been made available in the library of the House.

Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the assessment of the backlog of housing need used in Chapter 5 of the Barker Review of Housing Supply in the UK.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not make national or regional estimates of housing need, as such estimates are unable to reflect adequately the diversity of needs and priorities at the local level. In the past, such estimates have led to the provision of new housing in areas where this did not represent the best use of resources. However, we have accepted in principle the case made by Kate Barker in her Review of Housing Supply in the United Kingdom that a significant increase in social housing is needed and will be working through the detailed implications over the next 18 months.
	Regional Housing Boards in drawing up Regional Housing Strategies, Regional Planning Bodies and local authorities are the main bodies charged with making assessments of housing need in order to carry out their housing functions.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does collect and publish data from local authorities on decisions made on applications for assistance under the homelessness legislation and the number of households in temporary accommodation.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Harry Cohen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much neighbourhood renewal money has been spent in Leyton in each financial year since the inception of the allocation; how much has been allocated to the area to date; what the arrangements are for people to discover in detail how the money has been spent; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The London Borough of Waltham Forest has been awarded a total of £10.85 million Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) from April 2001 until March 2006. Of the £54.7 million allocated up to March 2004, it is not possible to define precisely how much NRF has been specifically spent in Leyton as a number of cross cutting interventions have been commissioned that cross ward boundaries. However, last year 200k was specifically allocated to Leyton.
	While the Local Strategic Partnership has agreed to spend the majority of future NRF on a cross cutting agenda (14–19 year olds), it has also agreed to allocate £200k (for the next two years) to each of the five priority areas, of which Leyton is one.
	Further, in December 2003 Leyton was awarded a Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder which attracts £300k per year for up to seven years.
	Details on NRF spend are reported through the Community Councils on a regular basis. The £200k NRF spend specific to Leyton is determined locally by the Leyton Neighbourhood Forum, a representative of which has a seat on the Leyton Neighbourhood Management Board and reports directly to it.

New Buildings (Regulations)

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he gives to planning authorities regarding the design and construction of new buildings and the capacity to withstand earthquakes.

Keith Hill: None. However, such issues may be considered as part of compliance with Part A of the Building Regulations, and are therefore not for local planning authorities.

Referendums (Leaflets)

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he will be taking to ensure that the content of leaflets distributed to households in regions due to hold a referendum on an elected regional assembly is objective; whether he will be consulting the Electoral Commission on their content; and whether he will consult the yes and no campaigns in each of the regions.

Nick Raynsford: As with the rest of the Government's Information Campaign, the leaflets distributed to households will be in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code, Guidance on the Work of the Government Information Service, and the "Referendums on establishing elected regional assemblies: Guidance for civil servants on their role and conduct". The purpose of the leaflet is to explain the proposals for elected regional assemblies to voters to enable them to make an informed choice at the forthcoming referendums.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects that the lead Yes and No campaigns will be appointed by the Electoral Commission in September. The Government will not be showing the leaflet to the Electoral Commission in advance of publication.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Administration Budget

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made towards the 5 per cent. reduction in real terms in his Department's administration budget by 2008 announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 331.

Anne McGuire: The real terms reduction of 5 per cent. or more will be a central feature of the public spending settlements for 2006–08 to be announced in detail later this year.

Departmental Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total amount paid by his Department to employment agencies for the supply of temporary staff was in financial year 2003–04.

Anne McGuire: The estimated total paid to employment agencies by the Scotland Office for the supply of temporary staff for 2003–04 was £68,197, of which £14,561 related to costs incurred by the Office of the Advocate-General.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the travel costs incurred by (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years.

Anne McGuire: All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in the staff handbook and all ministerial travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code" and "Travel by Ministers", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course.
	The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The following table shows ministerial and overall expenditure on travel and subsistence since that date.
	
		£
		
			 Financial Year Office Of which ministerial: 
		
		
			 2003–04(8) (9)277,554 (10)13,147 
			 2002–03 382,238 35,865 
			 2001–02 382,618 52,122 
			 2000–01 388,194 69,336 
			 1999–2000(11) 226,244 46,575 
		
	
	(8) Financial year 2003–04 costs are provisional, pending finalisation of Annual Accounts.
	(9) Of which £67,170 relates to expenditure incurred by the Office of the Advocate-General. Expenditure by the Office of the Advocate-General for earlier years is not held separately.
	(10) Of which £1,552 relates to expenditure incurred by the Office of the Advocate-General.
	(11) Part year, the Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case.

Anne McGuire: No Scotland Office Minister has travelled by helicopter, at departmental expense, since the Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.

Working Time Directive

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: No staff in the Scotland Office have signed a formal opt out or are exempt from the Working Time Directive.
	The Office maintains its awareness of staff who may work close to or surpass the 48-hour per week limit and who are not subject to an opt out agreement. Details of the numbers of hours employees work are monitored locally as part of the flexible working hours system and in line with relevant health and safety legislation. Information on specific hours worked on a monthly basis is not held centrally.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Police

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what progress has been made in merging the Royal Parks Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  for what reason the Royal Parks Constabulary has not merged with the Metropolitan Police; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The merger of the Royal Parks Constabulary with the Metropolitan Police Service requires primary legislation, and we will be bringing forward the necessary measures as soon as the legislative programme allows. In the meantime, policing of the Royal Parks is being undertaken jointly by the Royal Parks Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police Service under the terms of an agreement between the Secretary of State and the Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Amateur Sports Clubs

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance is issued by her Department to amateur sports clubs on the facility to register with the Inland Revenue as a Community Amateur Sports Club.

Richard Caborn: The Inland Revenue is responsible for administering the Community Amateur Sports Club scheme. Comprehensive information and guidance for amateur sports clubs that wish to register for the scheme is provided on their website http://www.inlandrevenue. gov.uk/casc/.

British Museum Trustees

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) procedure and (b) criteria applied for the appointment of British Museum trustees are; and what role she has in assessing the performance of trustees appointed by the Government.

Estelle Morris: holding answer 30 June 2004
	Under the provisions of the British Museum Act 1963, the museum is governed by a board of 25 trustees, 15 of whom are appointed by the Prime Minister, following an open and transparent selection process in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. Candidates are assessed against criteria reflecting the role they are to fill and detailed in role and person specifications published on the websites of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Cabinet Office. Of the remaining 10 trustees, one is appointed by HM the Queen, one each by the Royal Academy, Society of Antiquaries, the British Academy and the Royal Society, and five by the trustees themselves. Serving trustees' performance is assessed by the chair and this informs Ministers' decision whether or not to reappoint for a second term.

CABE

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provision is made for public access to decisions made by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment design reviews; and what the standard timescale is for providing such access.

Richard Caborn: The design review programme of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) offers advice to planning authorities and others on the design of selected development projects in England. CABE is a non-statutory consultee for planning applications, and it publishes its advice when it becomes aware a planning application has been submitted. CABE aims to publish its advice on its website, www.cabe.org.uk, within 10 days of finalising its comments. To encourage pre-planning application discussions, before an application is submitted CABE's advice is not placed in the public domain.

Cricket

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps are being taken to enhance the playing of cricket at state schools.

Richard Caborn: Cricket is one of many sports benefiting from the roll-out of school sport partnerships (50 per cent. of maintained schools from September 2004; 100 per cent. from September 2006). The 2003–04 survey of partnerships found that 85 per cent. of schools offer cricket to their pupils, making it the sixth most popular sport out of over 40 offered across all partnership schools. 45 per cent. of partnership schools have links with community cricket clubs (cricket being second only to football). We are providing over £800,000 to the England and Wales Cricket Board from 2003–04 to 2005–06 to enable them to increase further the numbers both of school-club links and of schools and pupils benefiting from them.

Government Art Collection

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to make the Government's Art Collection viewable online.

Estelle Morris: A website about the Government Art Collection (GAC) has been running since 2001 (www.gac.culture.gov.uk). Its on-line catalogue features all of the GAC's original works of art, and the GAC's holdings of modern and historical prints are gradually being added to it.

Television Access Services

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made by Ofcom towards finalising its code on television access services.

Estelle Morris: The matter raised is the responsibility of Ofcom, as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to respond directly to my hon. Friend. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research will begin its operations.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	It is anticipated that the centre's board will hold its first meeting in September.
	The Centre for Best Practice for Animals in Research (CBPAR) already carries out many of the functions of the proposed centre and will form the core of the National Centre. CBPAR will continue to operate during the transition period.

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for statutory review of a refusal to grant asylum have been submitted; how many such applications have been granted; and how many substantive re-hearings of asylum applications were successful.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Administrative Court received the first applications for statutory review in May 2003. Although applications for statutory review can be made by the appellant or the Secretary of State, all applications to date have been made by the appellant. Between May 2003 and April 2004 a total of 914 applications for a statutory review of a refusal by the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT) to grant permission to appeal were received by the Administrative Court. In 165 of these applications the decision of the Tribunal was reversed.
	The most recent information from the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) database, IRIS, indicates that no Tribunal appeals decided between May 2003 and April 2004 following statutory review were allowed.

Asylum/Immigration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the National Audit Office's findings on the relative value of spending on immigration case work and on removing failed asylum seekers.

Des Browne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate will consider carefully the findings in the National Audit Office report on improving the "Speed and Quality of Asylum Decisions". There are spend to save justifications for investing both in making initial asylum decisions more quickly, and in removing failed asylum seekers. The Government's strategy for asylum addresses all aspects of the end-to-end asylum process, and recognises that a balance needs to be struck in allocating resources appropriately between them.

Cannabis

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are for an awareness campaign to educate young people of the risk of pulmonary infections and respiratory cancer associated with cannabis smoking.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	There are no plans for a campaign.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his interim reply of 10 June 2004, ref. 177874, when a response will be sent to the letter of 4 May 2004 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North, concerning a constituent; and if he will state the reason for the delay.

Des Browne: holding answer 28 June 2004
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 24 June. A response was delayed because of the need to arrange a home visit as set out in my letter to him.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the findings were of the psychologist's report to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on the subject of historical sex abuse; and what has been done by the Commission to implement recommendations.

Paul Goggins: The Commission has not received a psychologist's report specifically on historical sex abuse cases. It has received a report as part of its work on the review of child sexual abuse cases in general which sets out to identify the salient research, good practice and guidance on the application of scientific methodology to the investigation of contemporary and historical allegations of abuse and is based on well founded psychological principles. The report provides reference material for the review of cases.
	A summary of the Commission's review in this area was passed in confidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred a case to the Court of Appeal owing to an error in a police method or procedure which led to the original conviction or sentence being amended, quashed or upheld.

Paul Goggins: The Commission analyses the issues considered in reaching a decision to refer a case to the Court of Appeal but not to the level of errors "in police method or procedure". It is also extremely seldom that there is a single determining factor in a referral as the Commission considers the totality of issues in every case. On this very restricted basis there have been notes of issues surrounding police activity in 95 referrals since the Commission was established in 1997.

DNA Evidence

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2004, Official Report, column 317W, on DNA evidence, if he will undertake a study into the number of convictions which are quashed as a result of DNA evidence.

Paul Goggins: We have no plans to undertake such a study.

Drug Rehabilitation Treatment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce waiting times for drug rehabilitation treatment in South Somerset.

Caroline Flint: Long waiting times have developed in Somerset because Somerset Drugs Service provides a wide range of treatment services and there were unpredicted peaks in demand on some of these services during last year. Subsequently waiting times increased for some services, specifically drug rehabilitation services.
	There was also a breakdown in communication between Somerset Drug Services and Drug Action Team commissioners, including Primary Care Trust commissioners. However, the Drug Action Team commissioners have re-established links and with the support of the National Treatment Agency are working to ensure such a breakdown does not occur again. All partners are working together with the service to get back on track and to ensure that waiting times are reduced. A variety of strategies have been put into place to reduce waiting times, for example:
	The Drug Action Team (DAT) is involved in the National Treatment Agency Opening Doors programme to reduce waiting times;
	The DAT has invested in two peripatetic nurses in Somerset Drugs Service as a resource to reduce waiting times;
	The DAT has made additional funding available of £205,600 for prescribing in this financial year to provide an additional 74 places;
	The DAT commissioned a Strategic Review of the whole adult drug treatment system, which makes clear recommendations about reconfiguration of service provision, which the DAT is currently taking forward;
	The DAT has established data collection system for waiting times by modality to ensure accurate monitoring is in place.
	Further details on the strategies are available from the DAT.

Green Burials

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken by the Government to encourage the use of ecologically-friendly burials, with particular reference to the procedure whereby bodies are freeze-dried and buried in biodegradable coffins.

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 June 2004, Official Report, column 1511W.

Illegal Weapons

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal firearms were (a) found and (b) confiscated by Lancashire police in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: The requested information is not available centrally.

Illegal Weapons

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were found by police to be carrying knives in public areas in Lancashire in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: The requested information is not available centrally.

National Offender Management Service

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget for the National Offender Management Service for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 is; and what proportion will be allocated to (i) prisons and (ii) probation.

Paul Goggins: The 2004–05 Correctional Services Resource budget is £3,689 million and the Capital budget is £326 million. The costs of setting up the National Offender Management Service will be met from within this provision. Of the 2004–05 budget for Correctional Services, 22 per cent. has been allocated to probation and 60 per cent. has been allocated to prisons. Funding for 2005–06 onwards will be agreed as part of the current spending review.

National Offender Management Service

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the employing body is for prison staff under the National Offender Management Service arrangements.

Paul Goggins: Staff working in Her Majesty's Prison Service remain civil servants employed under authority delegated by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to the Director General of the Prison Service. Consultation on the future organisational structure of the National Offender Management Service recently concluded. The responses to that consultation exercise are currently being considered. No changes will be made to the current status of Her Majesty's Prison Service as an Executive Agency of the Home Office until that work has been completed.

Offender Management

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will be responsible for commissioning new prison establishments under the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: Ministers will be responsible for commissioning new prison establishments with advice from The Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service, Martin Narey.

Police Intelligence Database

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards will be in place to ensure that information in the proposed police national intelligence database is confidential and accessible only by relevant persons.

Caroline Flint: Ownership of all police data rests with Chief Constables. Each force's security and access protocols must accord with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Community Security Policy that also governs usage of the Police National Computer (PNC). This will be reinforced in the Code of Practice to be prepared in response to Sir Michael Bichard's recommendation. For security reasons, I am not in a position to describe current the arrangements to prevent or detect unauthorised access, but I am satisfied these are adequate.

Police National Computer

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is authorised (a) to input and (b) to amend information on the Police National Computer; what procedures and arrangements are in place (i) to prevent and (ii) to uncover unauthorised hacking, including by persons authorised to access the Police National Computer; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I would refer my hon. Friend to my earlier response on 22 January 2004, Official Report, column 1440W, which dealt with those who were authorised to access and amend information on the Police National Computer (PNC).
	For security reasons I am not in a position to describe the arrangements that are in place to prevent or detect unauthorised access to the PNC but I am satisfied that these arrangements are adequate.

Prison Doctors

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many doctors work at Wymott and Garth prisons (a) full-time and (b) part-time (i) contracted to the Prison Service and (ii) work as locums; how many other medical staff work at Garth and Wymott prisons (A) part-time and (B) full-time and to whom they are contracted to.

Paul Goggins: Wymott prison has one full-time locum doctor and an out-of-hours service is supplied by a local general practitioner's practice, which is a shared service between Wymott and Garth. Both are contracted to the Prison Service. There are a further 12 full-time medical staff working in the health care centre. One is employed by the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust and 11 are employed by the Prison Service.
	Garth prison has two full-time doctors both of whom are contracted to the Prison Service. One is a locum and the other also provides cover at Wymott. A further 17 staff work in the health care centre: one full-time member of staff is employed by the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust and the Prison Service employs 14 full-time and two part-time nurses.

Racism

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government measures to tackle racism; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Government placed a public duty on public authorities to promote racial equality. The full benefits of this will be realised over time, as the duty becomes mainstreamed in the work of public bodies.
	Research conducted on behalf of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) found that nearly 70 per cent. of public authorities and educational institutions felt that their work on implementing the duty had already produced positive results. The benefit most commonly cited was increased awareness of race equality in policy making and service delivery; other benefits included increased ability to ensure policies and services were targeted and designed appropriately.
	Supporting evidence to the findings of the research conducted on behalf of the CRE have been published in the Audit Commission's report, The journey to race equality published in January 2004. This states that the duty to promote race equality and good race relations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act is the most influential driver of activity on race equality.
	We are developing a Government wide Community Cohesion and Race Equality Strategy and as part of that work launched a consultation pamphlet Strength in Diversity. I refer my hon. friend to the statement I gave to the House on 19 May 2004, Official Report, column 49WS. Eradicating racism is at the heart of the strategy and through the consultation exercise we want to engage as broad a range of people as possible in finding ways to achieve this goal.

Teachers (Sexual Abuse)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of sexual abuse cases against teachers that reach court with flawed evidence on the part of the complainant.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office Court Proceedings database does not contain details of the circumstances of the offences for which prosecutions are brought, thus the status of the defendant is not available.

Teachers (Sexual Abuse)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications of allowing teachers accused of sex abuse anonymity until conviction.

Paul Goggins: The Government has carefully considered whether defendants in cases of sexual offences, including those working within the education system, should be entitled to anonymity until conviction.
	We do not believe that there is a case for this. While we appreciate that those accused can suffer distress, the Government believes that it is vital to maintain the principles of open justice which are necessary to the maintenance of public confidence in the criminal justice system.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers have strengthened guidance on safeguards for those subject to accusations of sex abuse before they are charged. The Government is keen for effective measures to be put in place in this area and believes this is the right approach to dealing with the concerns. In addition, the Government committed to monitoring the results of the revised guidance and Press Complaints Commission regulation through the interdepartmental ministerial group on sex offending which has a remit to monitor the impact of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bankruptcy

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UK companies have gone bankrupt in each quarter of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The table below shows the numbers of company insolvencies in the UK in each quarter since 1999.
	
		UK Company Insolvencies by Quarter 1999—present
		
			 Year Quarter England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland UK Total 
		
		
			 1999 Q1 3,912 153 16 4,081 
			  Q2 3,590 136 14 3,740 
			  Q3 3,376 144 14 3,534 
			  Q4 3,402 139 14 3,555 
			 2000 Ql 3,637 136 22 3,795 
			  Q2 3,370 153 27 3,550 
			  Q3 3,709 139 15 3,863 
			  Q4 3,601 155 19 3,775 
			 2001 Ql 3,943 166 16 4,125 
			  Q2 3,684 141 18 3,843 
			  Q3 3,640 108 11 3,759 
			  Q4 3,705 187 15 3,907 
			 2002 Ql 4,141 240 12 4,393 
			  Q2 4,066 175 4 4,245 
			  Q3 3,807 184 18 4,009 
			  Q4 4,291 189 15 4,495 
			 2003 Ql 3,797 183 30 4,010 
			  Q2 3,767 168 25 3,960 
			  Q3 3,314 154 19 3,487 
			  Q4 3,306 126 21 3,453 
			 2004 Ql 3,248 153 19 3,420

Bogus Traders

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with the Home Office on increasing co-operation between the police and trading standards departments to tackle bogus traders and distraction burglaries; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have spoken to my colleague, the Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety, about a cross departmental Ministerial Group to encourage greater cooperation between departments and enforcement agencies.

Doorstep Selling

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to consult on the recent report on doorstep selling by the Office of Fair Trading.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We welcome the market study report on doorstep selling. It is being carefully considered and we aim to respond within 90 working days. Any proposed legislative changes will be the subject of thorough consultation.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many registered applications are outstanding in employment tribunals; how many of these are part-time worker pension cases; and how many (a) are backlog from previous years and (b) have been lodged this year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Based on the information currently held in the Employment Tribunals Service's statistical database, at the end of May 2004 a total of 109,530 tribunal applications are recorded as outstanding. Of this total there were 43,762 live part time worker pension applications.
	The Employment Tribunals Service makes comparisons on backlogs and registered applications at the end of the financial year. For the financial year 2003–04, based on the information held in the Employment Tribunals Service's statistical database, a total of 111,170 tribunal applications were recorded as outstanding. A total of 55,178 applications were lodged in 2003–04 and the remaining 55,992 applications may be classified as backlog as they were registered in a previous financial year.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications have been registered in employment tribunals relating to flexible working regulations in each region; how many costs awards have been made against (a) respondents and (b) applicants in each region; and what the average cost award was in each region.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Flexible working regulations came into force on 6 April 2003. In the financial year ending 2003–04, based on the information held in the Employment Tribunal Service's statistical database, a total of 211 applications were registered relating to the flexible working regulations. Of this total, flexible working was identified as the main jurisdiction in 61 applications and in the remaining 150 applications flexible working was identified as a secondary jurisdiction.
	Statistical information for individual regions is not readily accessible and could be produced only at disproportionate cost. Statistical data relating to individual jurisdictions, such as flexible working is also not readily available.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases concerned with (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal have been heard by an industrial tribunal in each region in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the number of cases concerning equal pay, disability, sex and race discrimination and unfair dismissal which were disposed of at hearing by Employment Tribunals in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			  Equal pay Disability Sex Race Unfair dismissal 
		
		
			 1998–99 377 415 1,320 1,140 11,872 
			 1999–2000 143 456 1,110 771 9,604 
			 2000–01 99 112 1,258 1,112 11,565 
			 2001–02 236 618 1,136 829 9,143 
			 2002–03 133 678 1,121 725 9,456 
			 2003–04 114 587 882 761 9,634 
		
	
	Statistical information for individual regions is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Equal Opportunities

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department has put in place to (a) provide advice and (b) share best practice with employers with respect to increasing the number of women in science, engineering and technology.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department has awarded a contract to the JIVE Consortium to deliver a new Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology. Many of the services to be delivered under this contract, including advice and information on good employment practice for women in SET occupations, will be available online and the new website is being launched on 2 July. Other services, including direct contact with employers to discuss how the Resource Centre can work with them to share best practice and provide them with relevant, tailored advice, will commence after the formal launch of the Centre on 16 September. The Government have allocated £800,000 per annum for three years to set up and operate the new Centre and an additional £500,000 per annum for development of a dedicated returners package.

Equal Opportunities

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department has taken to raise the profile of women in science, engineering and technology.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department has awarded a contract to the JIVE Consortium to deliver a new Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). Many of the services to be delivered under this contract, including raising the profile of women in SET occupations, will be delivered online. The new website, being launched on 2 July, will have a section dedicated to stories and reports which raise the profile of Women in SET. The contractor has also appointed a dedicated Marketing Officer and is the process of setting up a high-profile media advisory Group. There will be a pre-launch event, on 9 September, for the new Resource Centre as part of the BA Festival of Science and a well-publicised formal launch will take the format of a Conference on 16 September. The Government have allocated £800,000 per annum for three years to set up and operate the new Centre and an additional £500,00 per annum for the development of a dedicated returners package.

Equal Opportunities

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to encourage employers to provide support for women in the science, engineering and technology sector.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department has awarded a contract to the JIVE Consortium to deliver a new Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). The formal launch of the Centre will be at a Conference on 16 September to which representatives of a wide-range of SET employer organisations, including industry and academia, are being invited. As soon as the Centre has been launched, these employers will be invited to seek direct, tailored advice, provided by specialised consultants about the best ways in which they can support women working in their organisations and tackle the barriers which cause women not to reach their full potential. Also many of the services to be delivered under this contract, including publishing good practice case studies, will be delivered online. The new website, being launched on 2 July, will have a section dedicated to such case studies. The Government has allocated £800,000 per annum for three years to set up and operate the new Centre and an additional £500,00 per annum for the development of a dedicated returners package.

Equal Opportunities

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the work of the Promoting Science, Engineering and Technology for Women Unit in encouraging implementation of the Government's stategy on increasing female participation in science, engineering and technology.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government's Strategy for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology sets out a new and enhanced role for the Promoting Science, Engineering and Technology for Women unit, now renamed the DiverSETy team to reflect its broader focus on all under-represented groups in SET. Since the publication of the Strategy, the DiverSETy team has been through a tendering process for the Resource Centre, followed by contract negotiations. A contract with the JIVE consortium was signed in May 2004, and the official launch will take place on 16 September 2004. The DiverSETy team also facilitated the appointment process of the Independent Implementation Group which has met twice. The members of this group were announced in January 2004 and the DiverSETy team provides secretariat support for its meetings. The DiverSETy team is strengthening relationships with relevant policy areas across DTI, other Government Departments (including their agencies) and the Research Councils to ensure that the representations and participation of women in SET is considered and incorporated across Government. This includes working towards the Government's target of 40 per cent. female representation on public bodies/policy committees by 2008 on which the DiverSETy team leads. The team is tasked with ensuring that mainstream science policy does not disadvantage women in SET and therefore scrutinises and comments on OST and Research Council policy documents to ensure that diversity is mainstreamed. Recently, it has also been working collaboratively with the DfES and the Treasury on the Skills chapter of the 10 year framework for Science and Innovation to ensure continuity of effort for girls and women in SET throughout education and employment.
	The DiverSETy Team has continued to fund and support the Rosalind Franklin Awards which are administered for us by the Royal Society and which achieve excellent publicity for the Women in SET agenda.

Miners (Co-morbid Conditions)

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners found to have a co-morbid condition other than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were (a) informed to seek further medical advice and (b) told of the impact that the co-morbid condition would have on their compensation payment; how many of the cohort with a co-morbid condition received a reduction in their damages; why co-morbid conditions are not recorded; whether there will be further medical investigation into the issue; whether medical experts representing both sides will be asked for their opinion.

Nigel Griffiths: It is in accordance with the High Court Judgment that claims are accurately and fairly calculated and therefore any co-morbid conditions for which the Department is not liable for must be taken into account when calculating compensation.
	Where the examination by the respiratory specialist of live claimants during the full Medical Assessment Process (MAP) reveals previously undiagnosed conditions for which further investigation or treatment may be appropriate cases are required to be handled sensitively with the claimant's GP being informed and the claimant advised to visit his GP.
	Instances of co-morbid conditions are only required to be reported on in the MAP report. IRISC, the Department's claim handlers, are not required to record on their management information systems the number of instances a co-morbid condition was diagnosed and the impact that had on individual claims, as these conditions are not compensatable under the British Coal scheme.
	The entire MAP process and the Claims Handling Agreement (CHA) have been soundly endorsed by the Judge, Sir Michael Turner, and found to be equipped to deal with cases involving co-morbid conditions. Where any doubts in an individual case are identified by either side the Medical Reference Panel (MRP), put in place jointly by the Department and the claimants' solicitors, can be consulted.

Pirate Broadcasters

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many active pirate broadcasting stations the Radiocommunications Agency has identified as operating in the UK in each year since 1997; how many (a) operations and (b) prosecutions the Agency has carried out against pirate broadcasters; what the conviction rate was; what the average custodial sentence was; what the average fine to (i) convicted pirates and (ii) businesses supporting and promoting pirate radio stations was; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) became the independent regulator responsible for all functions previously undertaken by the Radiocommunications Agency on 29 December 2003. Enforcement of the regulations and control of pirate radio stations is a matter for Ofcom and accordingly my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Retirement

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from (a) employers' organisations, (b) pensioners' organisations and (c) unions on the retirement age.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government sought views on options for retirement ages in the Age Matters consultation document published in summer 2003 and received over 400 responses, including responses from a wide range of employers' organisations, pensioners' organisations and unions. Government has most recently received representations on retirement ages from Help the Aged, The Pensions Commission, Engineering Employers Federation, Employers Forum on Age.

Royal Mail

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been saved by Royal Mail Group plc as a result of the decision to abolish the second daily postal delivery.

Stephen Timms: The cost savings to be made from the introduction of the single delivery are a commercial matter for the Royal Mail. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Statutory Paternity Pay

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 7 June 2004, Official Report, column 105W, on Maternity/Paternity Leave, what information she has (a) requested and (b) received from the Inland Revenue on the number of employees who have received statutory paternity pay.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department asked for figures on the take up of statutory paternity pay since April 2003, however, Inland Revenue will not be able to provide the full figures until February 2005. They have provided some initial information which is currently being considered.

Trade Union Political Funds

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what average amount trade unions have spent through their political funds in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Based on figures published in the annual report of the Certification Officer (CO), the average amount trade unions have spent through their political funds, in each of the last five periods for which figures are available, is:
	
		£
		
			 Time period Average spend per trade union with a political fund 
		
		
			 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998 454,652 
			 1 July 1998 to 30 September 1999 328,587 
			 1 October 1999 to 30 September 2000 448,578 
			 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2001 468,667 
			 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2002 586,248

Trade Union Political Funds

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UK trade unions have political funds.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As of 31 March 2004, the number of unions with political fund resolutions in force was 32.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency matrons (a) are eligible to claim £10,000 from the Accident and Emergency Patient Experience Fund, (b) have claimed £10,000 from the fund and (c) have received £10,000 for their hospital from the fund.

Rosie Winterton: The Government have made available £2 million in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Patient Experience Fund. Any modern matron with responsibility for a A&E department is entitled to claim and receive £10,000 to improve the experience of patients in that department.
	At the beginning of 2004, it was estimated that about 150 A&E departments, or about three-quarters of the total, were the responsibility of a designated matron. Interim monitoring earlier this year has generated information on about 60 departments where the money had been received and used. Matrons who have not yet claimed are still able to and so a final evaluation of the fund has not been completed.

Accident and Emergency Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency attendances he estimates there are per month by people of no fixed abode.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect this information and it is therefore impossible to make an estimate.

Allergies

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians report, "Allergy: the Unmet Need";
	(2)  how many people have required treatment from specialist allergy doctors in each year since 1997;
	(3)  if he will take steps to increase the number of specialist allergy doctors;
	(4)  what steps he is taking to ensure that local health authorities and NHS trusts develop and manage allergy services.

Stephen Ladyman: We welcomed the Royal College of Physicians' report and believe it is a useful contribution to the debate on how to improve National Health Service allergy services. It is the role of primary care trusts, in partnership with local stakeholders, to decide what services to provide for their populations, including those with allergies. They are best placed to understand local health care needs and commission services to meet them.
	The information about the number of people requiring treatment from specialist allergy doctors is not held centrally. However the Royal College of Physicians estimated in their 2003 Report, "Allergy—the unmet need: a blueprint for better patient care", that around one in six of the population is affected by allergy.
	The Department's September 2003 workforce census records 24 hospital medical staff specialising in allergy, including 20 consultants. The number of hospital medical allergy staff as a whole has doubled since September 2000, the first year allergy was collected as a separate speciality and numbers of consultants specifically increased by 14. The NHS Plan also announced that there would be 1,000 general practitioners with special interests by 2004. Already, there are over 100 GP-led schemes and around 35 nurse-led schemes.
	Allergy has been allocated an additional centrally funded specialist registrar post in 2004–05 and a further centrally funded specialist registrar post in 2005–06. This is in recognition of the desire to increase the allergy workforce and trusts will still have the opportunity to locally fund further posts.

Allergies

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much public money his Department spent on allergy care in the NHS in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what plans his Department have to increase spending on allergy care within the NHS.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on National Health Service funding for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies is not collected centrally. Strategic health authorities and primary care trusts receive unified allocations to cover the costs of hospital and community health services, discretionary funding for general practice staff, premises and computers and primary care prescribing.
	The level of funding made available for the drugs, staffing and other costs of providing allergy services are determined locally. It is for health authorities, in partnership with other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to provide health services for their populations including those with allergies.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis he recommended an optimal dose for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and related anti-depressant drugs.

Rosie Winterton: As with all medicines, the recommendations for dosing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were made on the basis of the dose finding studies provided at the time of licensing and the outcome of clinical trials.
	On 11 March 2004 the committee on safety of medicines issued advice reminding prescribers of the recommended starting dose of one SSRI: paroxetine (Seroxat). This followed re-review of the original dose finding studies for paroxetine and consideration of prescribing data which suggested a proportion of patients were being started on doses of paroxetine above those recommended for depression.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the results of clinical trials of paroxetine (Seroxat) which showed that patients treated with placebos experienced withdrawal reactions comparable in character and severity to those experienced by patients on the active drug.

Rosie Winterton: Assessment of clinical trials with paroxetine indicate that 25 per cent. of patients experienced symptoms on stopping treatment and 15 per cent. of those experienced symptoms described as severe. In the same trials, 15 per cent. of patients experienced symptoms on stopping placebo and 9 per cent. of those experienced symptoms described as severe. The most common events reported in clinical trials as occurring on stopping both paroxetine and placebo include dizziness, nausea, insomnia, anxiety and headache. The incidence and character of the symptoms experienced on withdrawal are reflected in the product information for prescribers (the summary of product characteristics) and the patient information leaflet.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will request the Medicines and Health Care Regulatory Agency to undertake a full, detailed, and publicly available review of the evidence on the suicide risk posed by selective seratonin re-uptake inhibitor antidepressant drugs for (a) adults and (b) children.

Rosie Winterton: The safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and in particular, any link to an increased risk of suicide is currently undergoing intensive review by an expert working group of the committee on safety of medicines (CSM).
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has communicated advice to doctors and patients as each stage of the review has been completed. An interim report, which sets out the group's advice and the action that has been taken as a result, was published on the MHRA/CSM website in September 2003. In December 2003, the CSM issued advice on the use of SSRIs that paroxetine, venlafaxine, sertraline, citalopram and escitalopram should not be used in children and young people under 18 years because of a lack of benefit in this patient population and an increased risk of adverse events, including suicidal behaviour.
	The focus of the expert working group is now to complete its review of the available data relating to the safety of SSRIs, including that relating the risk of suicidal behaviour in adults. It expects to complete its work later this year, at which point its final report will be published.

Anti-TNF Alpha Therapy

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the funding of anti-TNF alpha therapy in the Portsmouth Hospitals Trust area.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 29 June 2004
	Portsmouth Primary Care Trust (PCT) has agreed to fund anti-TNF therapy in accordance with National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance. Demand for anti-TNF therapy locally has been higher than the PCT anticipated and the PCT is now working closely with Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust to ensure that anti-TNF therapy is available to all for whom it is clinically appropriate.

Brain Tumours

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to increase the number of hospitals with facilities to treat brain tumour patients, with particular reference to specialist facilities for treating children with brain tumours;
	(2)  what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the prognosis for children diagnosed with a brain tumour; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 29 June 2004
	It is for local health communities to decide how best to provide services for their local populations.
	The Department has commissioned the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop service guidance on tumours of the brain and central nervous system for use in the national health service in England and Wales. The guidance will address services for the diagnosis, staging and treatment, follow up, rehabilitation and specific elements of supportive and palliative care that meet the particular needs of patients with brain and central nervous system tumours and of their families and carers. NICE expects to publish the guidance in August 2005.
	The distinct needs of children with cancer have been increasingly recognised over recent years. That is why we have also commissioned NICE to produce service guidance for the NHS on child and adolescent cancers. The guidance will include recommendations on optimal forms of diagnostic services, treatment, support services and palliative care. It will also include advice on research, the transition from paediatric to adult services and specialist follow up for late effects of treatment. We expect the guidance to be published in February next year.
	Both sets of guidance will support the planning, organisation and commissioning of services to ensure the best possible outcomes for cancer patients.
	The Department issued Referral "Guidelines for Suspected Cancer" in 2000 to help general practitioners identify those patients who are most likely to have cancer and who therefore require urgent assessment by a specialist. These guidelines include a section on brain tumours in children.
	The guidelines are currently being updated by NICE and are due to be published next year. The Department provides specific funding for a specialised research network on paediatric oncology. This network is led by the United Kingdom children's cancer study group (UKCCSG). The brain tumour group of the UKCCSG is currently running eight trials. In addition, several other trials are under development and a number of recent studies are being analysed.

Brain Tumours

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce treatment waiting times for (a) children suffering from brain tumours and (b) all brain tumour patients; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The NHS Cancer Plan sets out our strategy to reduce waiting times for cancer patients. A two week outpatient waiting time standard was introduced in 2000 for all urgent general practitioner referrals of suspected cancer. In the last quarter—January to March 2004—99.5 per cent, of urgent GP referrals for suspected brain and central nervous system cancers were seen by a specialist within two weeks. From 2001, a maximum waiting time of one month from urgent referral to first treatment was introduced for all children with cancer, including brain cancer. In the last quarter, all children who were urgently referred and subsequently diagnosed with cancer were treated within one month. By 2005, there will be a maximum wait of one month from diagnosis to first treatment and two months from urgent referral to first treatment for all patients with cancer. Progress towards these targets is being achieved through increased investment, additional staffing levels, installing new and replacement radiotherapy and diagnostic facilities and streamlining care processes through the cancer services collaborative—improvement partnership.

Brain Tumours

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to provide a central information resource on brain tumours, for use by patients and carers;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to provide information to (a) patients, (b) parents and (c) carers on the support available to brain tumour patients.

Melanie Johnson: The Government established a coalition for cancer information (CCI) in June 2002. The CCI brings together producers and consumers of cancer information from national voluntary organisations, the National Cancer Research Institute, the national health service and the Department. It has been established to oversee the development, delivery and dissemination of high quality information materials for those affected by cancer, including those with brain tumours, and their carers.
	Recently published guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on improving supportive and palliative care for adults with cancer will benefit all patients with cancer, including those with brain tumours, and their carers. The Government have also commissioned NICE to develop service guidance on tumours of the brain and central nervous system for use in the NHS in England and Wales. Both pieces of guidance cover aspects of care such as communication and information. NICE has also been commissioned to produce service guidance for the NHS on child and adolescent cancers. The guidance will look at the interface with services provided by non NHS providers, including those providing support for families, carers and siblings, including bereavement support.
	The Department also recently awarded a Section 64 core grant to the United Kingdom Brain Tumour Society of £34,000 spread over the three years beginning 2004–05.

Breast Cancer

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what campaigns his Department has undertaken to raise the awareness of male breast cancer.

Melanie Johnson: There are a number of initiatives underway, many in conjunction with the voluntary sector and support groups, to increase both men's general health awareness and men's awareness of cancer. Most recently the Department provided £30,000 funding towards the production of the Men's Health Forum's Hayne's Cancer Manual for Men, a practical guide for men explaining the causes, symptoms and treatments for cancer in a style that is more accessible and appealing to men.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) improving outcomes in breast cancer guidance clearly stages that men are entitled to the same breast cancer services as women, though male breast cancer is very rare with under 300 reported cases in each year.

Breast Cancer

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on annual mammogram screenings for women of 40 to 49 years of age who are assessed as having an increased risk of breast cancer.

Melanie Johnson: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence published a clinical guideline on 23 June 2004 entitled, "The classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer in primary, secondary and tertiary care". The guideline states that all women aged 40 to 49 years satisfying referral criteria to secondary or specialist care, at moderate or greater risk of familial breast cancer, should be offered annual mammographic surveillance.
	The national health service will now be expected to implement the guideline's recommendations for good practice, which are based on the best available evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness.

Care Homes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the occupancy rates were for care homes, broken down by region, in each of the last three years.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the occupancy rate of registered beds in nursing homes for 2000–01 by region. Similar information is not available for residential homes.
	I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection that information is not available for later years.
	
		Occupancy rates of registered beds in nursing homes for 2000–01, by region
		
			 Regional(12) Office Occupancy rate (percentage) 
		
		
			 England 81 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 78 
			 North West 79 
			 Trent 81 
			 West Midlands 82 
			 Eastern 81 
			 South and West 84 
			 London 84 
			 South East 84 
		
	
	(12) Regional and national rates are calculated using estimates for any missing data.
	Source:
	RH(N)B

Carer's Assessments

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many carer's assessments have been conducted under the Carer and Disabled Children Act 2000 in each year since the Act came into force.

Stephen Ladyman: The estimated number of carer's assessments and assessments of carers under 17 years of age are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Carer's assessments Carers under 17 
		
		
			 2000–2001 195,000 1,500 
			 2001–2002 243,000 2,900 
			 2002–2003 287,000 6,400 
		
	
	Information on the legislation under which the assessment is undertaken is not held centrally and so assessments made under the Carer and Disabled Children's Act 2000 cannot be separately identified.

Children's Hospices

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was received by each children's hospice from the public sector (a) as a proportion of its total funding and (b) in cash terms in the last year for which figures exist.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the public sector share of funding for children's hospices is not collected centrally. Services provided by hospices are funded from a number of sources, including services commissioned by national health service primary care trusts and local authorities on the basis of their assessment of children's needs and their priorities.

Diabetes

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent representation he has received from diabetes sufferers regarding choice in the provision of insulin; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his policy is on general practitioners continuing to prescribe both animal insulin and synthetic insulin to diabetes patients; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has received a number of representations about the continued availability of animal insulins. Both animal and synthetic insulins continue to be available for prescription. All decisions about appropriate treatment regimes for people with diabetes should be made between the individual concerned and their healthcare advisers.

East Lancashire Healthcare Trust

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Chief Executive of the East Lancashire Hospitals National Health Service Trust to return to normal duties.

Melanie Johnson: This is an employment issue for the Chairman and the board of the East Lancashire Hospitals National Health Service Trust. As such it would not be appropriate to comment.

Employment Costs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS expenditure was spent on employment costs in each of the last three years.

John Hutton: The proportion of total national health service expenditure spent on hospital and community health service (HCHS) expenditure employment costs is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Percentage spent on HCHS salaries and pay 
		
		
			 2000–01 46 
			 2001–02 47 
			 2002–03 48 
		
	
	Expenditure figures for 2003–04 have not yet been collected.
	It is not possible to give family health service employment costs because of the way they are funded.

Fall/Osteoporosis Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what sanctions will be imposed on those primary care trusts that fail to deliver properly structured falls and osteoporosis services;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the progress of integration of falls and osteoporosis services in each primary care trust; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The national service framework for older people (NSF) requires integrated falls services to be in place locally by April 2005. This should include appropriate links to osteoporosis. The Department will be monitoring formally the 2005 milestone at strategic health authority (SHA) level as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for 2003–06. All SHAs currently report that the April 2005 target will be achieved in their area. Over the coming year, the Healthcare Commission will be undertaking a detailed review of delivery of the NSF and older people's services, including integrated falls services. This will indicate if any further support or actions are necessary.

Fenland Primary Care Trust

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what annual financial resources were calculated according to his formula for and paid to the Fenland Primary Care Trust (a) in the years before amalgamation with the East Cambridgeshire Trust and (b) since the amalgamation.

Stephen Ladyman: For 2003–06 allocations as determined by the weighted capitation formula have been made to East Cambridgeshire and Fenland Primary Care Trust (PCT). Prior to this allocations were made to health authorities.
	For 2003–06 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT received the following:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2003–2004 117,133 
			 2004–2005 128,632 
			 2005–2006 140,862

Health Services (Derby, North)

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been to the NHS waiting list in Derby, North in the last seven years.

Stephen Ladyman: The earliest available data shows that the total national health service waiting list for elective admissions at NHS trusts covering the Derby North area has fallen from 13,560 in March 1998 to 7,544 in April 2004.

Health Visitors

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many homeless families in temporary accommodation with one or more children aged 0 to 5 were visited by a health visitor within one week of moving in each year since 1996; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available centrally. It is for local authorities, primary care trusts and their partners to agree the outcomes they should work towards based on local priorities and circumstances, and how performance might be measured.

Infant Mortality

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing inequalities in infant mortality.

Stephen Ladyman: We are committed to reducing, by 2010, the gap in infant mortality between routine and manual groups (as defined in National Statistics socio-economic classification) and the population as a whole, by at least 10 per cent. To date, overall infant mortality has decreased across all groups since the baseline (1997–99). We are continuing to work to reduce the higher rates of infant mortality in disadvantaged areas and groups through the Government's health inequalities strategy, "Tackling Health Inequalities: A Programme for Action" (2003), and initiatives such as Sure Start. The programme for action identifies supporting mothers, families and children as one of four priority themes to lay the foundations for meeting the 2010 target.

Mental Health

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were recorded as having mental health problems in (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire in the last year for which figures are available; and what help is provided by (i) the NHS, (ii) primary care trusts, (iii) health agencies, (iv) social services and (v) others.

Melanie Johnson: The table shows numbers of finished consultant episodes for patients from primary care trusts (PCTs) in the Lancashire area, where the main specialty of care was psychiatric.
	The Lancashire Care national health service Trust provides mental health care in the area. Information is not collected centrally on the services provided by primary care trusts, local authorities and other bodies.
	A wide range of care and treatment is available in primary care, hospitals and in a variety of community-based settings across England for people with mental health problems which are jointly delivered by health and social services. The available provision ranges from the treatment of common mental health problems in primary care to specialised services for severe conditions including a variety of forensic interventions and care in secure settings. Service standards that adult users can expect from mental health services are set out in the "National Service Framework for Mental Health" (1999), a copy of which is available in the Library.
	Voluntary and community sector organisations also play a major role in mental health service provision by providing a range of services including residential care, supported housing and information about maintaining good mental health.
	
		Finished consultant episodes for patients treated by consultants with psychiatric main specialty in Lancashire PCTs, 2002–03—NHS hospitals, England
		
			 PCT of responsibility Total episodes 
		
		
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 623 
			 Blackpool PCT 722 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT 1,020 
			 Chorley and South Ribble PCT 638 
			 Fylde PCT 228 
			 Hyndburn And Ribble Valley PCT 397 
			 Morecambe Bay PCT 1,419 
			 West Lancashire PCT 425 
			 Wyre PCT 416 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A finished consultant episode is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	2. Specialty—care is needed when analysing hospital episode statistics data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as acute). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other recorded information. This analysis is based on episodes in which the main specialty of the consultant was one of the following: mental illness, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychotherapy, old age psychiatry.
	3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data is ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital episode statistics, Department of Health.

Methadone

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have been prescribed methadone in each of the last five years for which records are available; what quantity of methadone has been prescribed; and what the cost to the NHS of methadone was in each year.

Melanie Johnson: Information on the number of National Health Service patients prescribed methadone is not available centrally.
	The tables show the number of prescription items and net ingredient cost of all methadone drugs dispensed in the community in England, 1999 to 2003.
	
		Number of prescription items (thousands)
		
			 BNF Classification 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 BNF 3.9.1 Cough Suppressants in terminal illness 2.3 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.3 
			 BNF 4.7.2 Opioid analgesics 141.4 123.3 106.6 96.2 91.5 
			 BNF Drugs used in substance dependence 1,081.7 1,144.4 1,209.7 1,330.7 1,521.5 
			 Total 1,225.3 1,269.7 1,318.1 1,428.4 1,614.2 
		
	
	
		Net ingredient cost -- £ thousands
		
			 BNF Classification 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 BNF 3.9.1 Cough Suppressants 6.4 6.0 5.3 4.9 4.2 
			 BNF 4.7.2 Opioid analgesics 3,127.9 2,705.3 2,417.5 2,156.4 2,120.6 
			 BNF 4.10.0 Drugs used in substance dependence 7,360.1 7,765.2 8,375.2 9,565.9 11,639.4 
			 Total 10,494.4 10,476.4 10,798.0 11,727.2 13,764.3 
		
	
	Source:
	Prescription cost analysis (PCA) data from the Prescription Pricing Authority

Methadone

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the value of using methadone as a treatment for heroin addiction; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The National Treatment Agency (NTA) monitors and evaluates research on substance misuse. The research base for methadone as an effective treatment is summarised in the document, "Pharmacological Treatment for Drug Misusers: Review of the Evidence Base", published on the NTA website at: www.nta.nhs.uk

MRSA

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether every hospital has appointed a director of infection control.

Melanie Johnson: The director of infection prevention and control is not a new post, but an extra responsibility for senior health professionals within every organisation providing national health services.
	Information on heads of infection control teams is not collected centrally.

National IT Programme

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the likely effects on numbers of (a) managerial and (b) clerical and administrative staff resulting from the full implementation of the National Programme for Information Technology.

John Hutton: The National Programme for Information Technology (NpfIT) is focused on transforming patient care within the national health service. The NPfIT will use world-leading technology solutions to enable NHS staff to treat and interact with patients more effectively and efficiently than ever before. There will also be managerial and administrative benefits, as clinicians, but also other staff, are freed from having to search for missing or incomplete medical information; waiting while records, X-rays, and prescription information are transferred by post; and dealing with missed appointments. However, the NpfIT is not expected to lead to a significant change in the overall numbers of staff. Rather, we expect staff to be able to concentrate on other areas of activity and allow hands-on staff more direct contact with patients.
	It is still too soon in the NPfIT life cycle to quantify benefits tin any significant level of detail. However, benefits realisation planning is an integral element of implementation at every stage for each key element of the NpfIT. Benefits will be managed and realised as close as possible to where services are delivered to ensure local ownership of the process.

Obesity

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money his Department has given to charities who offer support and provide information regarding obesity (a) under section 64 grants and (b) through other funding mechanisms in each year since 2001.

Melanie Johnson: Under the section 64 grant scheme, £156,000 was given to charities since 2001 for work directly related to offering support and information regarding obesity. Activities to tackle obesity are undertaken under several related projects such as men's health and the British Dietetic Association. Other Department support is from central resources for cardiovascular disease and cancer prevention overall, which are not allocated to specific programmes.
	Local nutrition and activity initiatives are funded through health action zones, sure start, healthy living centres and through general funding allocations to health authorities and primary care trusts, on which information is not collected centrally.

Primary Care Trusts

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent per head of population on health services in each primary care trust in the eastern area.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the expenditure data for 2002–03, which is the latest year for which primary care information is available.
	The figures are given for expenditure by each primary care trust (PCT) in the eastern area. This is taken as being the east of England government office region and incorporates all PCTs within the three strategic health authority (SHA) areas:
	Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA
	Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA
	Essex SHA.
	
		Expenditure per weighted head by PCTs in the east of England government office region 2002–03
		
			 PCT £ per head 
		
		
			 Basildon 819.04 
			 Bedford 923.96 
			 Bedfordshire Heartlands 907.97 
			 Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford 1,002.20 
			 Broadland 966.75 
			 Cambridge City 1,127.76 
			 Castle Point and Rochford 863.14 
			 Central Suffolk PCT 944.08 
			 Chelmsford 980.28 
			 Colchester 941.83 
			 Dacorum 955.15 
			 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland 923.33 
			 Epping Forest 1,002.31 
			 Great Yarmouth 868.69 
			 Harlow 980.09 
			 Hertsmere 996.67 
			 Huntingdonshire 1,042.53 
			 Ipswich 926.79 
			 Luton 858.76 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford 942.11 
			 North Hertfordshire and Stevenage 928.79 
			 North Norfolk 928.24 
			 North Peterborough 923.90 
			 Norwich 1,163.20 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford 999.22 
			 South Cambridgeshire 1,200.52 
			 South East Hertfordshire 853.08 
			 South Peterborough 930.31 
			 Southend-on-Sea 947.62 
			 Southern Norfolk 955.12 
			 St. Albans and Harpenden 1,037.10 
			 Suffolk, Coastal 936.45 
			 Suffolk, West 938.68 
			 Tendring 804.43 
			 Thurrock 905.89 
			 Uttlesford 1,088.24 
			 Watford and Three Rivers 1,031.25 
			 Waveney 868.10 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 950.45 
			 West Norfolk 876.92 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. PCT expenditure is the gross revenue expenditure of the PCT, less income received from other PCTs for the provision of services to those PCTs in respect of their own populations.
	2. The table excludes the cost of health care commissioned by health authorities and SHAs in 2002–03.
	3. The majority of general dental services expenditure is not included in the PCT summarisation schedules and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board. An element of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority and not by PCTs.
	Sources:
	Audited summarisation schedules of the above PCTs 2002–03.
	Weighted population figures.

Screening Programmes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to date is of the pilots and roll out of (a) the chlamydia screening programme and (b) the bowel cancer screening programme;
	(2)  how much his Department spent in the last financial year on researching and developing screening programmes for the NHS; and what the total amount of underspends was;
	(3)  what the budget of the National Screening Committee was in each of the last three years.

Melanie Johnson: The United Kingdom national screening committee (NSC) advises the Government on all aspects of screening policy. It does not have a specific budget for the development of screening programmes. Decisions about screening programmes are made by the four UK countries after the NSC has given its advice. Last financial year, the Department spent a total of £17 million on developing various antenatal, child health and adult screening programmes in the national health service. Allocated funds were fully utilised. The Department also funds the NHS research and development programme, which aims to identify NHS needs for research and to commission research to meet those needs. A list of relevant projects and their costs is shown in the table.
	The total cost of the chlamydia screening pilot was £1.2 million. The total cost of the roll-out of the first two phases of the chlamydia screening programme is £13.5 million.
	The cost of the English arm of the colorectal cancer screening pilot is £4.75 million. The roll-out of this programme has not yet started.
	
		
			 Title Start date End date Spend for 2003–04 (£) 
		
		
			 A study to evaluate the most cost effective way to screen for chlamydia trachomatis genital tract infection, and reduce its prevalence and associated burden of disease 1 August 2000 31 October 2004 205,544 
			 A randomised trial of human papilloma virus testing in primary cervical screening 1 June 2001 31 August 2007 181,752 
			 Interventions for mild to moderate permanent childhood hearing impairments identified by neonatal hearing screening 1 April 2001 30 June 2007 147,794 
			 Amniocentesis results: investigation of anxiety 1 September 2001 31 August 2004 63,565 
			 Methods of prediction and prevention of pre-eclampsia—systematic reviews of accuracy and effectiveness literature with economic modelling 1 January 2004 31 December 2005 18,780 
			 Computed tomography, colonography, colonoscopy or barium enema for diagnosis of colorectal cancer in older symptomatic patients 1 February 2004 31 July 2007 79,824

Smoking

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much it cost the national health service to treat patients suffering from smoking-related illnesses in the last year for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: In 1997, the then Health Education Authority estimated that treating illness and disease caused by smoking costs the national health service up to £1.7 billion every year in terms of general practitioner visits, prescriptions, treatment and operations.
	Source of reference:
	Buck D, Godfrey C, Parrott S, Raw M, University of York Centre for Health Economics. "Cost effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions". London: Health Education Authority, 1997.

Smoking Cessation Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to replace the four-week follow-up for smoking cessation services with the longer term review of success rates recommended by the Wanless report.

Melanie Johnson: We have no plans to replace the four-week follow-up, which provides a practical way for national health service stop-smoking services to establish whether smokers who have set a quit date have been successful in stopping in the early stages, and enables predictions of longer-term quit rates.
	We will be responding fully to the Wanless report in the context of the White Paper on public health, which will include our plans for the future of NHS interventions to help smokers to stop.

Synthetic Insulin

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned from drug companies into the (a) safety and (b) suitability of synthetic insulin; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: All authorised insulins, whether synthetic insulin or animal insulin, have been demonstrated to be efficacious and safe for treatment of people with diabetes mellitus. As part of the licensing approval process for any medicinal product, including insulins, the applicant has to provide evidence that the product meets appropriate standards of quality, safety and efficacy. This will include clinical trial data in patients with diabetes. The decision to use one or other of the insulins rests with the physician in consultation with the patient.
	The regulatory authority, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, does not commission research.

Tuberculosis and Hepatitis C Action Plans

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he (a) commissioned, (b) received and (c) plans to publish (i) the Tuberculosis Action Plan and (ii) the Hepatitis C Action Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Action plans for tuberculosis and hepatitis C have been developed in the light of the Chief Medical Officer's infectious disease strategy, "Getting Ahead of the Curve". The Hepatitis C action plan for England implements our consultation document, "Hepatitis C Strategy for England" and was published on 29 June 2004. Copies are available in the Library. It is our intention to publish the tuberculosis action plan when departmental business allows. In the meantime, progress has continued, with a number of actions being taken forward.

Prosthetic Arms

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the estimated cost of a full-length active prosthetic arm is within the NHS;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on NHS procedures for fitting individuals without arms with active prosthetic arms;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on NHS multidisciplinary teams trained to work with multiple limb disability;
	(4)  what active upper limb prosthetics are available through the NHS; and how many users there are.

Stephen Ladyman: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community, including the provision of prosthetic services and multidisciplinary teams to work with multiple limb disability.
	Patients are encouraged to discuss the prosthetic limb prescription with the prosthetist and the wider healthcare team concerned. Multidisciplinary assessment focuses on the needs of individual patients and enables patients to actively contribute to the decision making process.
	The national health service has available to it, via contracts negotiated by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, virtually everything that is available on the international market
	The table shows the three general types of full-length active prosthetic arms available within the NHS.
	
		
			 Type Total cost—components only (£) 
		
		
			 Upper extremity prosthesis—full arm—mechanical hand 1,250.00 to 1,500.00 
			 Upper extremity prosthesis—full arm—electric hand 3,600.00 to 4,000.00 
			 Upper extremity prosthesis—full arm—electric hand, wrist and digital elbow system 18,000.00 to 25,000.00 
		
	
	We do not hold figures centrally for the number of users.

DEFENCE

Advertising Costs

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost to his Department of advertising in each year since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 13 January 2004, Official Report, columns 679–80 to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth). Figures for financial year 2003–04 are not yet available.

Cadet Forces

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the budget available to each cadet force in each of the last 10 years.

Ivor Caplin: The budget/expenditures for each of the cadet forces are as follows:
	
		1. Air Cadet Force (including CCF)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1991–92 16 
			 1992–93 18 
			 1993–94 19 
			 1994–95 20 
			 1995–96 21 
			 1996–97 19 
			 1997–98 18 
			 1998–99 19 
			 1999–2000 18 
			 2000–01 19 
			 2001–02 20 
			 2002–03 22 
			 2003–04 21 
		
	
	
		2. Cadets affiliated to the Royal Navy/Royal Marines(13) -- Budget records (£000)
		
			  (SCC) Sea Cadet Corps (CCF) Comb. Cadet Force (VCC) Volunteer Cadet Corps (SSA) Sea Scouts Assoc. 
		
		
			 1999–2000 6,448 1,518 12 110 
			 2000–01 6,942 1,631 n/a n/a 
			 2001–02 7,879 1,711 11 94 
			 2002–03 7,852 1,681 11 102 
			 2003–04 7,996 1,746 21 178 
		
	
	(13) Previous records no longer held
	The budget for financial year 2004–05 is likely to exceed the 2003–04 budget, but has not yet been finalised.
	3. Cadets affiliated to the Army
	Historical figures for ACF/CCF are difficult to provide.
	The annual ACF expenditure for 2002–03 was £50 million
	The annual CCF (Army) expenditure for 2002–03 was £10 million.

Civilian Internees (Compensation)

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British passport-holders have been excluded from the compensation scheme for civilian internees of the Japanese; and for what reasons.

Ivor Caplin: Holding a British passport, either at the time of internment or now, has never been a criterion for eligibility under the Ex Gratia Payment Scheme and as this information has not therefore been sought from claimants, it is not possible to say how many British passport holders who were civilian internees are not eligible for the scheme.

Civilian Internees (Compensation)

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why the eligibility for compensation for civilian detainees of the Japanese was changed between the Prime Minister's account of the scheme and the Department's amplification of its terms; and how many applications had been received by the second date.

Ivor Caplin: There was no change to the intended scope of the ex gratia payment scheme in relation to civilian internees after the announcement of the scheme on 7 November 2000 but an eligibility criterion was clarified. Letters began to be sent to those claimants who did not meet this criterion in late June 2001. By the end of June 2001, 3,195 claims had been received from former civilian internees. A number of claims had also been received from surviving spouses of former civilian internees who had died, but the figures available for claims from surviving spouses cover the spouses of all eligible groups and not just civilian internees and it is therefore not possible to isolate the requested information.

Civilian Internees (Compensation)

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  who carried out the research on the basis of which people were excluded from the compensation scheme for civilian internees of the Japanese;
	(2)  what consultations he has had with (a) representatives of civilian detainees and (b) the Army Historical Branch about the status of British passport-holders who were excluded from the ex gratia compensation scheme for civilian internees of the Japanese.

Ivor Caplin: Research in relation to the ex gratia payment scheme for those held captive by the Japanese was undertaken in a number of departments represented on the inter-departmental working group chaired by the Cabinet Office. The Army Historical Branch contributed to this research, but in relation to civilian internees, the work was primarily undertaken by the then War Pensions Agency (now the Veterans Agency), the DSS and the FCO. Responsibility for discussions with representatives of the former civilian internees also rested with the War Pensions Agency and the DSS. Since the end of the legal proceedings brought by representatives of the former civilian internees, the Ministry of Defence, now responsible for the Veterans Agency, has of course remained willing to discuss issues not already resolved by the courts.

Commonwealth Personnel

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel are from the Commonwealth in the (a) Royal Air Force, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army.

Ivor Caplin: There are currently 375 Naval Service personnel and 5,485 Army personnel with a nationality of a Commonwealth country (excluding United Kingdom) shown on their record of service.
	I am unable to provide reliable figures for the RAF due to inconsistencies within the nationality fields on the records of service.

Diego Garcia

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force personnel worked on Diego Garcia in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: No RAF personnel have worked on Diego Garcia in the last five years. There are currently 38 Royal Navy personnel, as there were last year, and there were 40 Royal Navy personnel from 2000–02.

Iraq

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action coalition authorities are taking to compensate victims of mistreatment at the hands of UK or US forces; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Claims made by Iraqis for losses that do not arise in connection with combat operations are handled in accordance with the direction of the Coalition Provisional Authority—specifically Section 18 of CPA order number 17.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Geneva conventions will apply in full to all foreign forces in Iraq after 30 June; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 16 June 2004
	The first, second and third Geneva conventions apply only during times of armed conflict. As at 28 June there is no ongoing armed conflict in Iraq so those conventions will have no application unless and until this situation changes. The fourth Geneva convention applies during an armed conflict or a belligerent occupation. Since the occupation of Iraq ceased with the handover of authority to the Iraqi Interim Government on 28 June, that convention has no further application. The conduct of British forces in Iraq after 28 June is governed by domestic Iraqi law (including CPA regulations, orders and memoranda carried forward in accordance with article 26(c) of the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period and CPA Order No. 100); by the terms of the UN Resolutions setting out its mandate and by English criminal law which applies to the Her Majesty's Armed Forces wherever they are in the world.

Iraq

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the arrangements are regarding charges for post and parcels sent by relatives in Northern Ireland to serving soldiers on active duty in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Relatives of servicemen and women serving in Iraq who live in Northern Ireland enjoy the same mail service as the rest of the United Kingdom.
	Through civilian post offices relatives can despatch letters and packets up to a maximum of 2kg at a concessionary rate. This concession is equivalent to the UK inland letter rate. As an example it would cost £6.89 to send a 2kg packet to Iraq.
	In addition to this concessionary service, relatives can also send, free of charge, the forces free air letter, more popularly known as the "bluey". Blueys are obtainable free of charge from civilian post offices. In addition, those with access to the internet can send an electronic bluey, the e-bluey, which is also free. This is the system pioneered by the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) whereby an e-mail is converted to a physical letter in Iraq, and delivered to the serviceman or woman in his unit.
	For logistic and operational reasons there is no mail service for items weighing more than 2kg.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2004, Official Report, column 1446W on Iraq, what the origin was of the foreign technology and technical assistance critical to the progress of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Geoff Hoon: I have already confirmed that Iraq was holding discussions with North Korea, and Her Majesty's Government 2002 dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction mentions an Indian chemical engineering company.
	I am withholding further information under exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Royal Anglian Regiment

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future form of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Royal Anglian Regiment.

Adam Ingram: I have no plans to change the form of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Royal Anglian Regiment.

UN Operations

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he plans to make to the command structure of British forces serving in Iraq after the handover of power on 30 June 2004.

Geoff Hoon: The command structure remains the same: the British General Officer Commanding in Multinational Division South East reports to the United States Multinational Force Commander in Baghdad. However, his forces remain under United Kingdom command at all times and are ultimately answerable to the Government.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the (a) average and (b) maximum time taken by his Department to assess claimants for attendance allowance in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Information on the Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) for a claim to Attendance Allowance (AA) for the year ending April 2004, together with a comparison with the figures for the year ending April 2003, is set out in the following tables.
	
		days
		
			 AA AACT for year ended April 2004 Target 
		
		
			 Normal rules 20.8 26 
			 Special rules 4.9 8 
		
	
	
		days
		
			 AA AACT for year ended April 2003 Target 
		
		
			 Normal rules 24.2 27 
			 Special rules 5.6 8 
		
	
	Notes:
	Information on the maximum time taken to clear cases is not available.
	All figures are in days.
	Source:
	National MIP, New PIEXT listings.

Benefit Payments

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) individuals, (b) men and (c) women have claimed (i) housing benefit, (ii) disability living allowance, (iii) income support and (iv) council tax benefit in (A) Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, (B) the Scottish Borders region and (C) Scotland in each year since 1997, or the introduction of the benefit, whichever is the most recent.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the tables.
	
		Housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in the areas shown as at February each year -- Thousand
		
			  Scotland Scottish Borders Council 
			 February Housing benefit Council tax benefit Housing benefit Council tax benefit 
		
		
			 1997 537.4 579.1 7.8 9.0 
			 1998 529.6 596.3 8.0 9.3 
			 1999 518.1 597.1 7.6 8.7 
			 2000 486.6 568.1 7.2 8.3 
			 2001 466.9 537.4 7.0 8.1 
			 2002 453.0 530.3 7.1 8.3 
			 2003 447.0 526.4 7.0 8.3 
			 2004 438.2 528.2 6.8 8.4 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
	3. Housing benefit and council tax benefit data is not available at parliamentary constituency level, and a gender split is not collected.
	4. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
	5. Housing benefit totals exclude extended payments cases.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count.
	
		Disability living allowance recipients in the areas shown as at February each year -- Thousand
		
			  Scotland  Scottish Borders Council  Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale parliamentary constituency 
			 February All Male Female All Male Female All Male Female 
		
		
			 1997 208.7 102.7 106.0 2.2 1.0 1.2 1.3 0.6 0.7 
			 1998 222.6 109.5 113.2 2.4 1.2 1.3 1.5 0.7 0.8 
			 1999 229.0 112.6 116.4 2.6 1.4 1.3 1.6 0.8 0.7 
			 2000 235.0 115.5 119.5 2.9 1.4 1.4 1.7 0.9 0.9 
			 2001 246.2 121.2 124.9 3.3 1.7 1.6 1.9 1.0 0.9 
			 2002 258.6 126.4 132.2 3.6 1.9 1.7 2.0 1.1 0.9 
			 2003 273.8 133.3 140.5 3.9 2.0 1.9 2.3 1.1 1.2 
			 2004 285.9 139.6 146.3 4.1 2.1 2.0 2.3 1.1 1.2 
		
	
	
		Income support recipients in the areas shown as at February each year -- Thousand
		
			  Scotland  Scottish Borders Council  Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale parliamentary constituency 
			 February All Male Female All Male Female All Male Female 
		
		
			 1997 406.1 132.5 273.6 5.1 1.4 3.7 2.7 0.7 2.0 
			 1998 407.7 136.9 270.8 5.4 1.5 3.9 2.8 0.8 2.0 
			 1999 401.2 135.0 266.2 5.3 1.4 3.8 2.7 0.9 1.8 
			 2000 395.8 134.4 261.4 5.4 1.5 3.9 2.9 0.9 1.9 
			 2001 412.4 142.4 270.0 5.8 1.9 3.8 2.8 1.1 1.7 
			 2002 418.0 147.7 270.3 6.3 2.3 4.1 3.1 1.3 1.8 
			 2003 426.4 154.0 272.4 6.2 2.2 4.0 3.1 1.1 2.0 
			 2004 239.4 94.0 145.3 2.8 1.2 1.6 1.2 *0.5 0.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. The gender refers to the claimant only.
	4. Disability living allowance and income support data are based on a 5 per cent. sample subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	5. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics (ONS) postcode directory.
	6. Numbers marked "*" are based on very few sample cases. They are subject to a high degree of sampling variation and should be used as a guide to the current situation only.
	7. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory and are based on May 1997 boundaries.
	8. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	9. From October 2003, pension credit replaced income support for pensioners.
	Source: IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample

Benefit Payments

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are in receipt of housing benefit in Scotland, broken down by local authority.

Chris Pond: The information is in the table.
	
		Housing benefit recipients in Scotland as at February 2004 -- Thousand
		
			 Local authority Housing benefit claimants 
		
		
			 Scotland 438.2 
			 Aberdeen 15.5 
			 Aberdeenshire 9.7 
			 Angus 7.1 
			 Argyll and Bute 5.9 
			 Clackmannanshire 4.5 
			 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 1.3 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 10.1 
			 Dundee 18.2 
			 East Ayrshire 12.0 
			 East Dunbartonshire 3.8 
			 East Lothian 5.9 
			 East Renfrewshire 3.4 
			 Edinburgh 27.6 
			 Falkirk 12.7 
			 Fife 27.9 
			 Glasgow 97.7 
			 Highland 13.1 
			 Inverclyde 9.2 
			 Midlothian 5.1 
			 Moray 4.5 
			 North Ayrshire 13.6 
			 North Lanarkshire 32.3 
			 Orkney 0.8 
			 Perth and Kinross 7.2 
			 Renfrewshire 15.9 
			 Scottish Borders 6.8 
			 Shetland 0.9 
			 South Ayrshire 8.6 
			 South Lanarkshire 26.6 
			 Stirling 5.3 
			 West Dunbartonshire 11.8 
			 West Lothian 12.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
	3. Housing benefit totals exclude extended payments cases.
	4. Figures for any non-responding local authorities have been estimated.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in February 2004.

Carer's Allowance

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many carers are estimated to be eligible for the carer's allowance; and how many carers are claiming carer's allowance.

Maria Eagle: Carer's Allowance provides income maintenance for people who provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person receiving Attendance Allowance, or the equivalent rates of the Disability Living Allowance care component, or an equivalent benefit paid under the War Disablement Pensions scheme or the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits scheme. Entitlement to carer's allowance can only be established reliably after a claim has been made. There is no data available on the number of carers who might be entitled to the allowance if they were to make a claim. This means that there is no reliable way of calculating the number of people who have claimed and been found to be entitled to the allowance as a proportion of the eligible population.
	At 28 February 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, some 422,000 people were receiving carer's allowance. A further 198,000 people had claimed and established entitlement, but were not being paid the allowance because they were receiving another social security income maintenance benefit.
	Note
	Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	Source
	IAD Information centre.

Child Support Agency

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many parents have faced criminal sanctions under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 because they have (a) failed to provide the Child Support Agency with required information and (b) provided false information;
	(2)  how many people have been prosecuted for making a false statement in the Child Support Agency in respect of their income in each of the last seven years.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. David Willetts
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents have faced criminal sanctions under the Child Support Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 because they have (a) failed to provide the Child Support Agency with required information and (b) provided false information.
	You also asked how many people have been prosecuted for making a false statement in the Child Support Agency in respect of their income in each of the last seven years.
	Criminal sanctions were introduced from 31 January 2001 to deal with offences relating to information. The first prosecutions were in 2002:
	In 2002 there were 16 in total—6 for failing to provide information; 9 for making false statements in respect of income; and one for making a false statement in respect of rent.
	In 2003 there were 234 in total—228 for failing to provide information; 5 for making false statements in respect of income; and one for making a false statement in respect of rent.
	So far this year there have been 69 prosecutions for failure to provide information.

Child Support Agency

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases which have been moved from the old to the new system have been followed up with a new complaint.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 1 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency cases which have been moved from the old to the new system have been followed up with a new complaint.
	I am afraid that this information is not available. I can, however, say that in the year to 31 March 2004 the records for around 326,000 cases moved from the old to the new computer system.

Child Support Agency

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints have been attributed to the (a) old and (b) new Child Support Agency systems.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 1 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints have been attributed to the (a) old and (b) new Child Support Agency systems.
	In the year to 31 March 2004 we received 49,215 complaints either in writing or by telephone. Of this total 33,876 related to clients we handled in accordance with the "old scheme" and 15,339 to clients being handled in accordance with the new legislation.

Easy to Read Publications

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to increase the number of books, magazines and newspapers available in large print, audio, Braille and electronic formats accessible to people with a visual impairment, dyslexia or other reading disability; and if he will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) on 28 June 2004, Official Report, column 44W.

Household Income

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of families containing one or more children have incomes below 60 per cent. of median contemporary incomes (a) before and (b) after housing costs.

Chris Pond: The information requested is in the table.
	
		Percentage of families below 60 per cent. of median income
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Before housing costs 18 
			 After housing costs 26 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are for 2002–03 the latest date for which data are available.
	2. Estimates are for Great Britain and are quoted to the nearest per cent.
	3. Estimates relate to the household's status at the time they were interviewed for the FRS.
	4. The estimates are based on sample counts, which have been adjusted for non-response using multipurpose grossing factors that, in the case of the Family Resources Survey, control for tenure, council tax band and a number of other variables. Estimates are subject to both sampling error and to remaining variability in non-response.
	5. The income measure used is weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income (that is to say income that is adjusted to reflect the composition of the household), both before and after housing costs have been deducted.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey (FRS).

Incapacity Benefit Claimants

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the profile is of claimants who (a) have had their incapacity benefit withdrawn and (b) have had a 20 per cent. reduction imposed upon them in the last three years.

Maria Eagle: A breakdown of information by age, gender and medical condition, is available for those claimants who have had their incapacity benefit withdrawn as a result of failing either the personal capability assessment or own occupation test. The available information is in the tables.
	There are less than 10,000 personal capability assessments appellants who move onto reduced income support each year, therefore data limitations make detailed profiling unreliable.
	
		Men failing the personal capability assessment or own occupation test, broken down by age
		
			 Men, age 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Under 20 — — — 
			 20–24 9,000 8,000 9,000 
			 25–29 9,000 9,000 7,000 
			 30–34 11,000 9,000 9,000 
			 35–39 10,000 9,000 11,000 
			 40–44 10,000 7,000 10,000 
			 45–49 10,000 6,000 10,000 
			 50–54 12,000 7,000 8,000 
			 55–59 8,000 8,000 8,000 
			 60–64 6,000 5,000 7,000 
			 All 87,000 70,000 81,000 
		
	
	
		Women failing the personal capability assessment or own occupation test, broken down by age
		
			 Women, age 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Under 20 4,000 — — 
			 20–24 6,000 5,000 5,000 
			 25–29 6,000 6,000 5,000 
			 30–34 7,000 4,000 7,000 
			 35–39 7,000 4,000 7,000 
			 40–44 6,000 5,000 6,000 
			 45–49 9,000 5,000 6,000 
			 50–54 7,000 4,000 7,000 
			 55–59 4,000 5,000 7,000 
			 All 56,000 40,000 50,000 
		
	
	
		Claimants failing the personal capability assessment or own occupation test, broken down by medical condition
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Mental disorder 43,000 32,000 42,000 
			 Nervous system 14,000 11,000 13,000 
			 Circulatory or respiratory system 13,000 9,000 11,000 
			 Musculo-skeletal 29,000 20,000 24,000 
			 Injury 20,000 16,000 18,000 
			 Others 25,000 22,000 23,000 
			 All 143,000 110,000 131,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000 and figures fewer than 3,000 are not included. For these reasons totals and sub group totals do not always tally; figures should be seen as an approximation.
	2. Figures refer to incapacity benefit, incapacity benefit credits and severe disablement allowance.
	3. Incapacity for work is determined by two medical tests: the own occupation test, which applies for the first 28 weeks of sickness for those with a recent work record; and the personal capability assessment, which applies after 28 weeks of sickness.
	4. Figures refer only to a failure of the personal capability assessment or the own occupation test; incapacity benefit may be withdrawn for other reasons.
	5. Differences in the levels of withdrawal for those with some characteristics or conditions are likely to be the result of different levels stocks and inflows for the different characteristics and conditions.
	Source:
	DWP administrative data—incapacity benefit annual dataset (1 per cent.)

Jobcentre/Jobcentre Plus

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are employed (a) in the UK and (b) in each region in Jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus.

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. George Osborne, dated 1 July 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning how many people are employed (a) nationally and (b) in each region in Jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	On the 31 May 2004 Jobcentre Plus, nationally, employed 78,664 Whole Time Equivalent staff. A breakdown by Region is in the table below. National Tier (Head Office) staff, and those working in our Contact Centres, are counted within the Government Office Region in which they work.
	
		
			 Jobcentre Plus Total Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) 31 May 2004 
		
		
			 East Midlands 4,582 
			 East of England 4,966 
			 London 9,887 
			 North East 5,015 
			 North West 12,166 
			 Scotland 9,480 
			 South East 6,969 
			 South West 4,900 
			 Wales 5,034 
			 West Midlands 6,759 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 8,906 
			 Jobcentre Plus Total 78,664 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

New Deal for Lone Parents

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in the Tamworth constituency have benefited from (a) the New Deal for Lone Parents and (b) the New Deal for Partners since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: 670 women have started New Deal for Lone Parents in the Tamworth constituency since the beginning of the programme in October 1998, of whom, 440 have gained a job. Information on the number of women who have benefited from the New Deal for Partners is not available.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Training Programmes

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what training programmes have taken place for staff in his Department in (a) substance misuse and (b) drugs treatment in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: There have been no specific training programmes in these areas in the last 12 months.
	As part of their induction programme, all new staff in the Department are made aware of the availability of welfare services. There is a speaker from the welfare service on the induction course. Welfare service holds a variety of information leaflets on substance misuse and these are handed out on request.
	In addition all new managers in the Department are required to attend three mandatory training programmes—Performance Management for New Managers, Leading a Team and Employment Law for New Managers. As part of these programmes managers are made aware of the Department's policies and procedures in relation to a range of potential disciplinary issues including drug and alcohol misuse. There is a speaker from Welfare service on the Leading a Team programme who outlines the support available to individuals and line managers.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Constitution

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those areas of Government activity which will remain wholly and exclusively the responsibility of the British Government if the European constitution is ratified by the UK.

Denis MacShane: Under the Constitutional Treaty for the EU, the Union would have exclusive competence in the areas of: monetary policy for member states which have adopted the euro; common commercial policy; customs union; the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy; the establishing of the competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market; and for the conclusion of an international agreement when its conclusion is provided for in a legislative act of the Union or is necessary to enable the Union to exercise its internal competence or insofar as its conclusion may affect common rules or alter their scope. In these areas, the UK would only be able to legislate and adopt legally binding acts if empowered to do so by the Union or for the implementation of Union acts.
	Member states and the EU would share competence in the following principal areas: the internal market; the area of freedom security and justice; agriculture and fisheries, excluding the conservation of marine biological resources; transport and trans-European networks; energy; social policy, for aspects defined in Part III of the Constitutional Treaty; economic, social and territorial cohesion; environment; consumer protection; and common safety concerns in public health matters, for aspects defined in Part III of the Constitutional Treaty. In these areas, the UK would be able to exercise its competence to the extent that the Union has not exercised, or has decided to cease exercising, its competence.
	In the areas of research, technological development and space, the EU would have competence to carry out actions, in particular to define and implement programmes, and in the areas of development cooperation and humanitarian aid the EU would have competence to take action and conduct a common policy. In none of those areas however would the exercise of that competence result in the UK being prevented from exercising its competence.
	There are also areas which would be the competence of the member states, but where the Union would be able to take supporting, co-ordinating or complementary action. These are: protection and improvement of human health; industry; culture; education, youth, sport and vocational training; civil protection; administrative cooperation; and tourism.
	Special provisions would apply to the coordination of economic and employment policies and the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as detailed in Part III of the Constitutional Treaty.
	Other areas of government activity would remain wholly and exclusively the responsibility of the British Government.

EU Constitution

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  where the wording for the new EU constitution will be made available;
	(2)  where the wording for the European Constitution can be found; and if he will make it available (a) on the internet and (b) in every public library.

Denis MacShane: CIG 86/04—a provisional consolidated version of the draft Constitutional Treaty—is available on the Britain and the EU section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website www.europe.gov.uk. I have also placed copies in the Library of the House. This draft text will now be consolidated into a single document and drawn up in all the authentic EU languages. These will be scrutinised by specialist lawyer linguists to ensure that there are no discrepancies between the different language versions without making any substantive changes to the text adopted at the IGC. This is detailed technical work which is likely to take up to four months to complete. Once this process is complete and it has been signed by Heads of State or Government I will make the official Treaty available on the internet and place copies in the Library of the House.

EU Constitution

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the URL is for the site where the European Constitution Treaty may be accessed; and where printed copies of the treaty will be made available to members of the United Kingdom public.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leominster (Mr. Wiggin) today (UIN 181299).

EU Constitution

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role (a) UK courts and (b) European courts will play in the UK in interpretation of the wording of the European Constitution; and where supremacy will lie.

Denis MacShane: As now, under the new Treaty, the Court of Justice will ensure respect for the law in the interpretation and application of the Constitution in cases that fall within its jurisdiction. Similarly, as now, national courts will apply the Treaty as interpreted by the Court of Justice.

EU Constitution

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the contents of the articles of the EU Constitution on (a) energy and (b) public health.

Denis MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to Presidency document CIG 86/04 Chapter III Section 10 page 185 for energy, and Chapter V Section 1 page 204 for public health. This document—a Provisional consolidated version of the draft Treaty—can be accessed at: www.europe.gov.uk and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what access the International Committee of the Red Cross has to prisoners detained in Afghanistan; and how many International Committee of the Red Cross reports on them have been filed to date;
	(2)  whether concerns have been raised by the International Committee of the Red Cross with regard to prisoners detained in Afghanistan.

Jack Straw: The UK does not have any prison or detention facilities in Afghanistan and, since ICRC policy is only to raise concerns directly with the parties concerned, we have not been contacted by the ICRC.
	The ICRC monitors prison conditions in detention facilities across Afghanistan, including those run by the Central Government, Regional Governors and US Forces. The UK Government does not have access to ICRC reports on those facilities, in line with ICRC policy on confidentiality.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prisons and detention camps in Afghanistan are under United Kingdom authority.

Jack Straw: There are no prisons or detention camps in Afghanistan under UK authority.

Croatia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Croatia to join the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The June European Council agreed to grant Croatia candidate status, and set a start date for negotiations of early 2005. The UK welcomes this and will continue to support Croatia's EU aspirations. The date of Croatia's eventual accession is in Zagreb's hands, and depends on the pace of reform, the legislative harmonisation process, and continued co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Croatia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Foreign Minister of Croatia.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last met the Croatian Foreign Minister on 11 February, during a visit by Dr Zuzul to the UK. I have also met Dr Zuzul in London, Zagreb and Brussels on a number of occasions since then, most recently on 22 June.

Departmental Property

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the expenditure by his Department on refurbishment of property in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The Department has spent the following sums on refurbishment since 1997:
	
		
			  £million 
		
		
			 1997–1998 3.2 
			 1998–1999 4.7 
			 1999–2000 22.5 
			 2000–2001 31.2 
			 2001–2002 10.1 
			 2002–2003 8.9 
			 2003–2004 6.2 
		
	
	The significantly higher costs in 1999–2000 and 2000–01 cover the second and third years of the project to refurbish the Old Admiralty Building (OAB). All other costs relate to refurbishments at overseas Posts.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under which legal jurisdiction (a) civilian contractors and (b) his staff working in Iraq will fall from 1 July.

Jack Straw: Foreign civilian contractors working in Iraq fall under Iraqi jurisdiction after 28 June, unless they fall within CPA Order 17. This chiefly covers foreign contractors who are supplying goods or services to Diplomatic Missions, the Multinational Force, and for humanitarian aid, reconstruction or development projects. Such contractors will be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms of a contract. Contractors must, however, respect Iraqi laws.
	All UK based staff working at the British embassy, Baghdad and the embassy offices in Basra and Kirkuk, will be entitled to the usual diplomatic privileges and immunities.

Polisario Front

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the Polisario Front about proposals to seek prisoner release.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 30 June 2004
	The Government have not held discussions with members of any Palestinian groups about prisoner releases.